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♦ 


















“I’ll have a big book, with only one page in it, and 
put them all on that!” (Page 53) 


Patty’s Romance 


BY 

CAROLYN WELLS 

»* 

Author of 


The Patty Books, The Marjorie Books, etc. 


Illustrations by E. C. Caswell 



NEW YORK 

DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 

1915 



A-> 

'he. ' 

4 /^ 

Ay , 

17 * 


Copyright, 1915 
By Dodd, Mead and Company 


SEP 22 1915' 

©CI.A410580 4 

x 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 


I 

To Stay or Not to Stay . 

9 

II 

A Broken Tryst 

• 23 

III 

Sweet and Twenty . 

• 41 

IV 

Friendly Advice 

• 54 

V 

An Apple Blossom Gift . 

• 67 

VI 

The Birthday Party 

. 81 

VII 

Where Is Patty? . 

• 95 

VIII 

Stolen ! 

. 1 10 

IX 

Cora 

. 124 

X 

A Letter from Grim 

• 139 

XI 

The Two Men . 

• 154 

XII 

Butter and Eggs . 

. 169 

XIII 

Philip Understands 

. 184 

XIV 

Home Again 

. 201 

XV 

At the Seashore 

. 214 

XVI 

Romance .... 

. 230 

XVII 

Bemis Buns 

• 243 

XVIII 

A Canoe Trip . 

00 

M 

XIX 

Brier Island . 

. 275 

XX 

A Fighting Chance 

. 289 



ILLUSTRATIONS 


“ I’ll have a big book, with 

ONLY ONE PAGE IN IT, AND 
PUT THEM ALL ON THAT ! ” 

(Page 53) . . . . Frontispiece 

She had exhausted herself 

ALREADY, TRYING TO THINK 
OF SOME WAY TO SIGNAL 

that house . . . Facing page 90 

“ The canoe is gone ! The 

— canoe — is — gone!!” “ “ 198 

“ Oh, Little Billee, .... 

AND I MADE GOOD ” “ “ 29O 



'\ 


CHAPTER I 

TO STAY OR NOT TO STAY 

Patty, I think you might ” 

f J “I do think you might! ” 

“ Oh, I do think you might! ” 

“ Why, of course, I might , — but, you see I 
just ” 

“ Now, don’t say can’t/ It isn’t true ! ” 

“ Well, suppose I say I — won’t ” 

“ Oh, no, no, anything but that! ” 

The hubbub grew more noisy, everybody 
talked at once, but everybody said practically 
the same thing. 

What were they doing? Why, merely trying 
to persuade Patty Fairfield to stay longer at 
FernFalls, where she was visiting the Kenerleys. 
Her host and hostess, Jim and Adele Kenerley, 
were coaxing her; Hal Ferris, Adele’s brother, 
was begging her; Daisy Dow, another guest, 
was adding her persuasions; and finally, Bob 
Peyton, a neighbour, was declaring that if she 
didn’t stay, the joy was all gone out of his life 
for ever! 


[ 9 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

It was the second week in May. Patty had 
already been with the Kenerleys for nearly two 
weeks, and she declared it was time for her to 
go back to New York. She had enjoyed her 
visit hugely, for she was fond of Adele, and 
Kenerley Kennels, as they called their home, 
was a delightful place to stay. 

The party sat on the wide veranda, and in 
the near distance was an apple orchard in full 
bloom. Patty looked across the flower-gardens 
to the pink and white trees, and held out her 
arms toward them. 

“ It’s heavenly here,” she said, “ and, honestly, 
Adele, I’m just crazy to stay another week, but 
I — I feel that I oughtn’t.” 

‘‘Why?” asked Jim Kenerley, in his blunt 
way. “ ’Fraid you’ll wear out your welcome? ” 

“Yes,” and Patty laughed; “that’s just it! 
Only that’s such a homely, old-fashioned phrase, 
I thought I wouldn’t use it.” 

“ Not very appropriate to you,” and Kenerley 
smiled at pretty Patty; “ you’re anything but a 
homely, old-fashioned girl! Well, let me tell 
you, little one, that you’d never wear out your 
welcome here, if you stay till the cows come 
home ! There ! how’s that for an old-fashioned 
phrase ? ” 

[10] 


To Stay or Not to Stay 

Patty laughed, and rocked slowly back and 
forth in her little porch-chair. “ It sounds 
honest, Jim, at any rate ! And as you don’t own 
any cows, I might stay on forever.” 

“ That’d suit me all right,” and Kenerley 
nodded his head. “ And now we’ll hear from 
the lady of the manor.” 

“ Oh, I’m crazy to have Patty stay longer,” 
said Adele, enthusiastically; “ I want her all 
summer. But, anyway, Patsy, do give us an- 
other fortnight, at least.” 

“ Do,” urged Daisy; “ for I shall be here a 
month yet, and I’d love to have you here too.” 

“ Never mind about the girls, Patty,” said Hal 
Ferris; “we men want you to stay and that 
means a lot more than feminine wishes ! How 
about it, Bob? ” 

Bob Peyton smiled at Patty. Like all who 
knew her, he was a victim to her charms. 
Pretty Patty, with her golden curls and big blue 
eyes, was a general favourite, but it was due 
quite as much to her sweet gaiety of disposi- 
tion and sunny good-nature as to her pretty face. 

“ Do we want her ! I should say we do! ” and 
Peyton emphasised his words by pounding on 
the arm of his piazza-chair. “ There isn’t any- 
thing in the world we want so much! Why, 
[ii] 


Patty’s Romance 

Mrs. Kenerley, if you get tired of entertaining 
Miss Fairfield,, my sister will be glad to take her 
off your hands for a year or two, I know.” 

“ Indeed, we won’t get tired of her! I love to 
have Patty here, and here she’s going to stay for 
a while — aren’t you, Pattikins?” 

“ It looks as if I should have to, you’re all so 
urgent! But I promised Nan I’d be home for 
my birthday, and you see ” 

But Patty couldn’t complete her sentence, for 
there was a wild yell of delight from Hal and 
an exclamation from Bob Peyton. 

“ Birthday! ” cried Hal; “ gee-lorious! Stay 
up here to celebrate it! We’ll make the welkin 
ring! ” 

“Yes, and then some!” agreed Peyton. 
“ Why, I’m the greatest little old birthday 
celebrator you ever saw! Leave it to me, Mrs. 
Kenerley, I’ll put you up a complete outfit of a 
celebration, the like of which you never saw! ” 

“ Oh, do stay, Patty! ” cried Daisy; “ you’re 
twenty, aren’t you ? And you’ll never be twenty 
again, you know ! ” 

“ Oh, yes, I shall,” and Patty dimpled and 
laughed. “ I’m always going to be twenty on my 
birthday after this. A girl ought never to be 
more than twenty, I think. This is my first 

[ 12] 


To Stay or Not to Stay 

twentieth birthday, but by no means my 
last!” 

“ Sweet and Twenty! ” said Bob; “ the sweet- 
est age in all the world! Now, it’s all settled 
about your staying, let’s decide about the cele- 
bration. Say, a parade and a band of music? ” 
“ Goodness, no ! ” laughed Patty; “ and it isn’t 
all settled yet. I must ask my fond parents; 
they may frown on this scheme of ours. And, 
too, Adele, I think it’s too much for you to have 
me here for a birthday party, when you’ve just 
had a May party for me.” 

“ Oh, the May party is a thing of the past,” de- 
clared Adele. “ I was just thinking it was time 
to be getting up something else. What sort of a 
party shall we have, Patty? ” 

“ I said I’d attend to that,” reminded Peyton, 
but Adele said, “ Nonsense, you’ll do nothing of 
the sort ! Patty is my guest and I shall arrange 
her parties.” 

“ Then we’ll give her an unbirthday party be- 
sides. I know sister wants to. And meantime, 
I’ll help you all I can with yours, Mrs. Kener- 
ley.” 

“ The first thing to be done is to get permis- 
sion for me to stay,” said Patty. “ Seriously, 
Adele, I know father wants me home for my 
[ 13 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

birthday. I’ve nearly always spent it at 
home.” 

“ All the more reason to make a change,” said 
Hal. “ But if it must be done, come on and let’s 
get it over. Let’s telephone toot sweet! ” 

So into the house they all went, and called up 
the elder Fairfields on the long distance tele- 
phone. As it was late afternoon, Mr. Fairfield 
was at home, and listened to the rather cyclonic 
messages of several excited young people. 

“ Let me take it,” said Adele at last. “ You’re 
all so crazy, you’ll drive Mr. Fairfield frantic! ” 
“ You see,” she said into the telephone, “ you 
have had Patty for nineteen birthdays and it’s 
only fair that you lend her to us for one.” 

“ But, my stars ! ” returned Patty’s father, 
“ she’s been with you a long time now, and we 
were just looking for her to come home ! ” 

“ Yes, I know,” and Adele’s voice was very 
cajoling, “ but you can look for her just as well 
a couple of weeks later.” 

“ A couple of weeks ! My dear Mrs. Ken- 
erley, what are you talking about? She can’t 
stay more than a week longer, at most! ” 

“ Well, we’ll say a week, now, and then we’ll 
see about that later. And, if you’re lonely with- 
out her, you and Mrs. Fairfield come up here to 
[ 14 ] 


To Stay or Not to Stay 

the celebration. This house is elastic, and we 
can put you up as well a$ not.” 

But the Fairfields couldn’t arrange to accept 
this invitation, and after a little more urging on 
the part of various ones, Mr. Fairfield consented 
that Patty should stay a week longer anyway, 
and perhaps two. 

“ Gorgeous ! ” cried Adele as they hung up the 
receiver; “ I’m so glad, Patsy! I did want you 
terribly! ” and the two swung down the hall in 
a rollicking dance. Jim dropped onto the piano 
bench and played a gay one-step, and Daisy and 
Hal fell into the humour of the moment, and 
danced after the flying forms of Patty and 
Adele. Bob Peyton, left alone, danced by him- 
self, until Patty took pity on him and gave him 
a turn. 

“ Not such a lot of time to plan,” said 
Adele, as tea was brought in and they flung 
themselves on divans and easy-chairs. “ Here 
it is Tuesday, — and your birthday is, when, 
Patty? ” 

“ Friday; but don’t do anything special, Adele. 
Let’s just have a little dinner dance; or say, a 
motor-ride over to the Country Club, and a 
dance there.” 

“ That’s all right, as far as it goes,” and Adele 
[ 15 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

wagged her head wisely; “but, seems to me a 
twentieth birthday calls for more than that. 
Now, my plan is an easier one, I think. What 
do you say to a house party, and then the guests 
can make their own celebration.” 

“But we have a house party, now!” and 
Patty looked surprised. “ Here’s Daisy and me 
and Hal, and Mr. Peyton is so near by. Isn’t 
that house party enough?” 

“ No; Hal belongs here, Daisy is spending the 
summer, and Mr. Peyton may be near by, but he 
isn’t in the house at all. I mean a lot of people 
staying here for several days, say from Thurs- 
day till Monday or Tuesday. Isn’t that more 
fun? ” 

“ Adorable! ” cried Patty; “ indeed it is more 
fun ! What a time we will have ! Why, we can 
all have birthdays, not only just me ! ” 

“I will,” said Bob Peyton; u my birthday is 
on Saturday, anyhow, that’s why I was so ready 
to celebrate yours — I thought I could shine in 
reflected glory.” 

“ Not a reflection, but a glory of your own,” 
and Patty smiled at him. “ If you’re so ready 
to help celebrate mine, I’ll help celebrate yours. 
What do you want specially? ” 

“ Anything you’ll grant. To celebrate with 

[16] 


To Stay or Not to Stay 

you is glory enough. And now, do you want 
your tea cold or hot? ” 

“ Pease-pudding-hot, I think. Yes, one lump, 
and a scrap of lemon. Oh, and some of the lit- 
tle, icy cakes! How glad I am I’m going to 
stay longer ! ” 

“ I’m going to send for Mona Galbraith,” said 
Adele; “ I hope she can come.” 

“ Oh, yes, she’ll come,” declared Daisy; 
“ she’d throw over anything for this.” 

“ And who else? ” and Adele looked at Patty. 

“ I dunno,” and Patty cogitated. “ Of course, 
I’d like the Farringtons, but they’re away. 
Marie Homer is away, too; but how about 
Kit?” 

“ Kit Cameron, yes, of course,” and Adele 
wrote down his name after Mona’s. “ Kit’s a 
dear boy at a house party.” 

u Thought he was a woman-hater,” put in Hal. 

“ He used to be,” said Patty, calmly, “ but I 
taught him better manners. Who else, Adele ? ” 

“ Why, it’s funny, but I can’t think of any 
one else. We must have another man, it isn’t 
even, now.” 

“ Phil Van Reypen,” suggested Patty, and 
Adele agreed. 

“ What about the Colossal Cowboy?” asked 
[ 17 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

Hal. “ Aren’t you going to include Little 
Billee? ” 

“He’ll be over at our house,” said Peyton; 
“ he’s coming there on his way from Boston, 
and if it’s at the right time of the moon, we’ll 
catch him.” 

“ Why, he told me he was going back to Ari- 
zona this week,” said Daisy; “ he’s mixed up in 
a big business deal, and he said he might be 
called by telegram any minute now.” 

“How about it, Patty?” inquired Jim Ken- 
erley, his eyes twinkling as he asked the ques- 
tion. 

“ Don’t ask me, Jim; I haven’t heard from 
Little Billee since he left here. Pm sure I 
don’t know his plans.” 

“ You two are good friends, aren’t you? ” and 
Jim looked innocent. 

“ Of course we are. Pm good friends with 
everybody.” 

“ I know it, Patsykins, and yet, somehow, you 
and Bill always seem on the verge of a squab- 
ble.” 

“ What nonsense ! I never squabbled in my 
life ! I hate that sort of thing.” 

“ That’s so, Patty, you do,” and Adele took up 
her cause. “ And you sha’n’t be teased about 

[ 18] 


To Stay or Not to Stay 

Bill. He’s a dear old thing, but you and he 
can’t seem to hit it off, can you? ” 

<4 We do so ! ” and Patty flushed a little. “ I 
like Bill Farnsworth a whole heap.” 

“ Yes, I know it, honey, but he isn’t altogether 
your sort,” and Adele returned to the list she 
was making. “ Well, if Bill is going to stay at 
the Brewsters’, then we’ll ask Mr. Van Reypen 
here, and we’ll have just an even number. Only 
eight, though. That isn’t a very big house 
party, is it? ” 

“ Big enough,” said Patty. “ What’s the use of 
a horde of people, just to make the party big- 
ger? What’s your order of ceremonies, Adele? 
Do have a dance in it, somehow; I couldn’t have 
a birthday without a dance.” 

“A dance, of course,” agreed Daisy; “but 
something more fussy than that. A dress-up 
affair of some sort.” 

“ Oh, yes, a dress-up party,” and Hal held up 
his hands in horror. “ I do love to be togged 
out in ruffles and velvet cloaks tied to one 
shoulder.” 

“ You would,” returned Patty, “ if you knew 
how stunning you look in them! Now if you 
were Sir Walter Raleigh, for instance — — ” 

u No,” said Hal; u none of that sort of fool- 

[ 19 J 


Patty’s Romance 

ishness! Dress up, if you must, but get some 
new idea, not that everlasting Sir Walter! I 
should think that poor old courtier would turn 
in his grave when he sees the hordes of imitators 
who try to look like him ! ” 

“.We’ve just had a May-day party, we can’t 
have that again,” and Daisy looked thoughtful. 

“ Have an any-day party,” cried Patty, with 
a sudden inspiration. “See what I mean? 
Dress up as any Day you choose, Fourth of 
July, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, any well- 
known Day! ” 

“ Not so worse ! ” said Hal. “ I’ll be Fourth 
of July, and then I’ll only have to catch a flag to 
drape about my noble proportions and there 
you are ! ” 

“ Lazy! ” cried Patty; “ I sha’n’t love you if 
you don’t take more trouble than that to deco- 
rate yourself for my birthday. But, s’pose two 
people hit on the same day, Adele? ” 

“ It won’t matter if they do. A couple of 
Christmases would be all right, or three or four 
Memorial Days.” 

“ Oh, don’t have Memorial Day, that’s too 
sad ! I only want gay and festive people around 
on my birthday.” 

“ All right, Patty-Poppets, I’ll see to it that 
[20] 


To Stay or Not to Stay 

everybody shall be gay and festive on your natal 
day. Now, we haven’t much time to get up these 
costumes. And, moreover, I doubt if these igno- 
rant young men would know how to order a suit 
for themselves.” 

“ Don’t worry about me, ma’am,” said Bob. 
“ My sister just delights in these foolish rig-a- 
ma-jigs, and she’ll fix me up like a house afire ! 
Also if the Little William is with us, she’ll like- 
wise look after his festal garb. Then too, am I 
right in assuming that my fair sister and her 
other self will have a bid to the festivities? ” 

“ Of course ! Tell Mr. and Mrs. Brewster we 
shall expect them. I’ll invite them myself, but 
you tell them as soon as you get home.” 

Peyton promised, and as he took himself 
off then, the girls ran away to dress for dinner. 

“ You’re too good to me, Adele,” and Patty 
wound her arm round her friend’s waist as they 
went upstairs. “ Just think all you’ve done for 
me, since I’ve been here, and now you’re begin- 
ning all over again ! ” 

“ Not entirely for you, chickabiddy,” and 
Adele returned the caress Patty gave her; “ but 
Jim likes a lot going on and so do I. And we 
have this big house and just now we have very 
good servants, so we love to entertain; and 
[ 21 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

there’s no one we enjoy having here as much as 
you, you dear little thing, you ! ” 

Adele was honestly fond of Patty and the af- 
fection was returned. Patty had wanted to 
stay longer, and now that it was all settled and 
arranged for, she was very happy over it. And, 
moreover, she greatly enjoyed a house party. 
A lot of gay young people about always meant 
a good time, and Patty did love to have a good 
time. So she sang a merry little tune as she 
danced away to her room to dress. 


[ 22 ] 


CHAPTER II 

A BROKEN TRYST 

“V | ^HERE she is ! I see her blue feathers 
I waving ! That’s Mona.” 

It was Mona, and as the train 
stopped in the Fern Falls station, Mona stepped 
down, to be greeted by a crowd of young 
people whose welcome was as noisy as it was 
sincere. 

“ You know us all,” said Patty, as she made a 
dash for the newcomer, “except Mr. Peyton; 
he’s new, but he’s very nice, — I can recommend 
him.” 

Bob Peyton bowed deeply in acknowledgment 
of this compliment, and then Jim Kenerley 
herded them all into the big touring-car, and 
they flew off home. 

The car was full, for Daisy and Hal had come 
too, to welcome Mona, but as Kit Cameron and 
Philip Van Reypen were not coming until a 
later train, there was plenty of room. 

“ How beautiful it all is! ” cried Mona, look- 

[ 23 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

ing at the flying landscape of blossomy trees 
against a background of dark-green hills and 
blue skies. 

“ And how beautiful we all are,” supplemented 
Patty; “we’re all dressed up to come to meet 
you and we want to be appreciated.” 

“You are,” and Mona laughed. “I never 
saw a more dressy crowd. And the way your 
bonnet is tilted over your left ear, Patty, is the 
finishing touch ! ” 

“ It will finish me ! ” exclaimed Patty. “ I 
bought this bonnet, thinking it would be fine for 
motoring, but it’s a regular nuisance ! Guess I’ll 
take it off ! ” 

Patty took off the little shirred silk affair, and 
Hal promptly put it on. 

“Nuisance!” he cried; “I should say so! 
How do you girls ever wear these things ! ” 

“Keep it on!” they all cried; “it’s awfully 
becoming! ” and good-natured Hal wore the 
blue silk bonnet home. 

Adele and Baby May awaited them on the 
porch, and there were more greetings and every- 
body laughed and talked at once. 

“ Wish I belonged to this house party,” said 
Bob Peyton, as he started to go home. “ Just 
because I live only half a mile away, I 

[24] 


A Broken Tryst 

have to go home. All you people can stay 
here ! ” 

“ You can stay, too,” said Adele, hospitably; 
“ we’ve rooms enough.” 

“ Thank you, no, Mrs. Kenerley. I must scoot, 
or sister will get the bell-ringers out after me. 
But, like the historic cat, I’ll come back.” 

“ Come to-morrow to luncheon, then. That’s 
when the Birthday really begins. Will Bill be 
with you? ” 

“ I’m not sure. He said he’d come if he pos- 
sibly could, and I think he will. Good-bye, 
all.” 

Peyton swung off across the fields, which was 
a short cut to his sister’s home, where he was 
staying. 

“ Nice boy,” said Mona, looking after him 
approvingly. 

“ He is,” agreed Patty. “ But he belongs to 
Daisy and me. Don’t you dare to cut us out, 
Mona Galbraith! ” 

“ I will if I can, — rest assured of that,” and 
Mona’s dark eyes twinkled. “ I’ve brought my 
prettiest frocks, and I have one that’s guaran- 
teed irresistible.” 

“ You girls think of nothing but the beaux! ” 
said Adele, laughing. 

[25] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ That’s all right,” returned Patty, “ for I’ve 
no doubt they think of nothing but us! ” 

“ Oh, what a conceited Puss! ” observed Jim 
Kenerley. “ Patty, you’ll have your head turned 
with admiration.” 

“ Not as long as I have you, Jim, to keep me 
down ! ” and Patty smiled at him gaily, for she 
was great friends with her host. 

“ Nor ever,” said Hal Ferris. “ I’ve tried my 
best to turn Patty’s head with my sincere and 
well-expressed admiration, but it won’t 
turn ! ” 

“ Of course not! ” and Patty shook her head, 
.solemnly. “ I’m apparently a butterfly, but 
really, I’m as serious-minded as a — as a ” 

“ Humming-bird! ” suggested Hal. 

“ No! ” said Patty, frowning; “ as a hyena! ” 

“A laughing hyena, then!” put in Mona. 
“ I always wanted to see one of those things. 
Do they really grow ? ” 

“ They grow, but they don’t laugh,” said Hal. 

“ And I laugh, but I don’t grow,” declared 
Patty, drawing herself up to her full height, 
which was not above average. “ But perhaps I 
may, yet.” 

“ Not you ! ” said Hal; “ you’re past the grow- 
ing age now.” 


[2 6] 


A Broken Tryst 

“ So I am ! Twenty to-morrow ! Almost a — 
what do you call ’em? Valetu ” 

“ Valentine, you mean, that’s a pretty 
word.” 

And then there was a hubbub of arrival and 
Van Reypen and Kit Cameron appeared. 

. “ Here we are! Welcome home again! ” 

As the two had been up at the Kenerleys’ but a 
fortnight before, it seemed like a reunion of old 
friends, and there were few formalities of greet- 
ing. 

“ Same rooms? ” they asked, as they were 
shown upstairs. 

“ Yes,” Adele called after them; “ and don’t 
dress for dinner to-night. Save all your frills 
for to-morrow.” 

“ Good, I love to dine in flannels! ” sang out 
Kit, as they disappeared. 

The girls congregated in Patty’s room for a 
chat. 

“ Awful nice to see you again, Mona,” said 
Daisy. “What have you been a-doin’?” 

“ Nothing much,” replied Mona, as she took 
down her hair, preparatory to doing it over. 
“ Everybody is leaving the city, of course. 
Father can’t decide what to do with me, as usual. 
I suppose I’ll have to go with my aunt, on a 

[ 27] 


Patty’s Romance 

trip. We’re not going to open the seaside house 
this year.” 

“ Go back with me for a visit,” said Daisy, 
cordially; “ I’d love to have you.” 

“ Oh, would you? Well, we’ll see about it. 
What are you going to do, Patty? ” 

“ Dunno. Go to Spring Beach with Nan and 
father, I suppose.” 

“ You don’t seem enthusiastic over it.” 

“Yes, I like it, but I like to see new places. 
I’d like a mountain trip, I think. But I don’t 
care much, I’ll have a good time wherever I am. 
But, girls, I want to do something this summer 
for the poor people. Don’t you think, Mona, 
the Happy Saturday Club ought to do some- 
thing in the way of Fresh Airing? ” 

“ Indeed I do, and I’m ready to do my share. 
But we never do anything without you, Patty, 
and since you’ve been out of New York the Club 
hasn’t done a thing.” 

“ That’s because you aren’t properly organ- 
ised,” said Daisy. “ I’ve heard about that Club, 
and it isn’t business-like a bit.” 

“ I know it,” agreed Patty. “ But, somehow, 
we did pretty well all winter, and the people we 
did things for liked it better not being ‘ organ- 
ised charity,’ I think.” 

[28] 


A Broken Tryst 

“ That’s all right to a degree,” returned Daisy, 
decidedly, “ but it’s always better to have sys- 
tem, I think.” 

“Well, we must do something this summer,” 
said Patty. “ I haven’t thought it out yet, but 
I will. Father always gives me money on my 
birthday, and I’ll use that, anyway, and I’ll get 
some more somehow.” 

“Goodness! You sound as if you meant to 
burgle a bank ! ” 

“No, I couldn’t manage that! But I want 
to burgle some rich people ! Now, don’t look 
at me as if I were a criminal ! I don’t mean to 
crack their safes at dead of night. But there 
are lots of rich people up here, and I’ve been 
thinking we might have a bazaar or something, 
and annex some of their wealth for our poories 
in the city.” 

“ Not so worse ! ” and Daisy looked interested. 
“ But get up a big one, get all the country round 
in it, and make a whole heap of money.” 

“Splendid! ” said Adele, who came in during 
the discussion. “ But I won’t even talk about it 
till this Birthday business is over. I don’t be- 
lieve in mixing things up. But, Patty, if you’ll 
stay up here long enough, I’ll help you in your 
scheme, whatever it is.” 

[ 29] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Good for you, Adele, I knew you would. All 
right, we’ll leave consideration of ways and 
means till after I’m twenty, and then we’ll 
see.” 

The morning of Patty’s birthday was as clear 
and cloudless as any one could wish, and when 
Patty awoke, and looked at her watch, it was 
nearly nine o’clock. 

“Wonder what I’m expected to do?” she 
thought. “ Adele didn’t say, so I suppose Hed- 
wig will bring me my chocolate, as usual.” 

But the usual hour of nine o’clock passed, and 
no Hedwig appeared. 

Patty rose, and throwing on a negligee, went 
to the window. It was the same window at 
which Bill Farnsworth had appeared the day 
he threw in the apple blossoms, and Patty’s 
mind flew back to that occasion. 

“ Good old Bill,” she thought; “ I hope he can 
come to-day for the party, but probably he 
can’t. Well, I’m getting hungry.” 

She sat at her dressing-table a moment, to pin 
up her gold curls and don a lace boudoir cap, 
and was just about to ring for Hedwig, when 
the door flew open and in came Daisy, Mona, 
and Adele. 


[ 30 ] 


A Broken Tryst 

“Happy Birthday!” they shouted; “we 
couldn’t come sooner, because everything to- 
day is in the twenties ! Adele made us wait un- 
til twenty minutes after nine to wake you up ! 
Are you awake? ” 

“ Oh, no,” cried Patty, laughing; “ I’m sound 
asleep, and dreaming that I’m starving.” 

“ Of course you are,” said Adele. “ Well, 
here comes your chocolate. There’s enough for 
all of you.” 

And then Hedwig brought a goodly-sized tray 
of chocolate, and hot muffins, and grapefruit 
juice in dainty glasses, and the girls sat around 
or strolled about the room or perched on the 
bed as they ate. 

“ Your presents will be at lunch time,” ex- 
plained Mona. “ I know you always have them 
at breakfast at home, so this is a pleasant 
change.” 

“ Just as you say,” agreed Patty; “ but I’ve a 
lot to do before that. My garb for the fancy 
dress dance isn’t done yet, and I’m going to 
help Adele with Hal’s. Oh, I’m no idle drone, 
if it is my birthday. I’m a little busy, buzzy 
bee.” 

The other girls, too, had some, finishing touches 
to put to their costumes, and all the morning 
[3i] 


Patty’s Romance 

they spent in Adele’s sewing-room, gaily chat- 
ting as they sewed. 

It was about noon when Patty was called to 
the telephone. 

“ Who is this? ” she said, though she knew the 
voice at once. 

“ It’s me, Apple-Blossom,” said Bill Farns- 
worth, u and — well, — I suppose you won’t care, 
but V m all broken up. I have to go right to 
New York and then West, and I can’t be at 
your party.” 

“Oh, Little Billee, of course I care! I’m 
awful sorry ! Can’t you wait till to-mor- 
row? ” 

“ No, I can’t possibly. It’s a big matter, and 
a serious one. I’m over here at the Brewsters’. 
Came this morning, thinking I could stay till 
to-morrow, but a telegram, just here, calls me at 
once. Patty, can’t I see you a minute, before I 
start? ” 

“ ’Course you can ! Come right over here.” 

“ No, I don’t mean that. I want to see you 
alone. Will you meet me in twenty minutes at 
the little gate between the rose-garden and the 
orchard? ” 

“ Goodness, Little Billee ! It sounds so — so — 
clandestine ! ” 


[ 32 ] 


A Broken Tryst 

“ Nonsense ! I must see you to say good-bye. 
Please come ! ” 

“ All right. In twenty minutes, then. Funny 
you said twenty minutes; Adele says everything 
must be twenty to-day.” 

“ Well, it will take me just about that time to 
get over there. Will you be there, Patty, at 
the little gate? ” 

And then the spirit of perversity that so often 
attacked Patty made her say, “ Well, perhaps. 
If I don’t forget. Anyway, you be there.” 

“ Oh, I’ll be there. But I can only wait a few 
minutes. My train goes at one o’clock, and I 
must first come back here.” 

“ Well, if I think of it, I’ll come,” said Patty, 
flippantly; “good-bye.” 

She hung up the receiver and flew back to her 
room. She had been telephoning at a connec- 
tion in Adele’s room, and the others didn’t 
know who spoke to her. Nor would Patty tell 
them. She knew, if she did, they would either 
go with her to see Bill, or tease her if she asked 
them not to go. Moreover, she had to dress, as 
she was still in her negligee. 

Hastily she began doing her hair. That didn’t 
take long, for the curly mop was easily tucked 
up into a crown and secured with a few large 
[33 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

shell pins. She caught down a blue lawn frock 
from her wardrobe as being easy to get into, and 
was soon exchanging her little blue bedroom 
mules for patent-leather pumps. 

She had no intention of not being at the tryst. 
No, indeed ! She wanted to see Billy, and meant 
to use all her arts to persuade him to stay 
over for the party. She almost decided to 
screw out a few tears, if no other means would 
avail. 

She was all ready at quarter-past twelve, and 
five minutes was enough in which to reach the 
little gate. 

Snatching a broad-leafed, rose-wreathed pan- 
ama hat, Patty went silently through the hall, 
hoping to escape the attention of the girls in 
the sewing-room. 

But Daisy, looking up, spied her, and called 
out, “Wait a minute, Patty; where are you 
going?” 

“ I’ll be back directly,” Patty answered, going 
on more quickly. 

But Daisy said, “ Oh, I want to ask you some- 
thing about this overskirt; do come here a min- 
ute, Patty.” 

Patty thought quickly. It would be better to 
stop a minute, — Bill would surely wait, — than 
[ 34 ] 


A Broken Tryst 

to seem ungracious on her birthday. So she 
turned back and went to the sewing-room door. 
“ What is it? ” she said, pleasantly. 

“ Why, Patty Fairfield ! Where are you go- 
ing, all dressed up? ” exclaimed Mona. 

“ Just on an errand,” said Patty, “ and, hon- 
estly, girls, I’m in a hurry. What is it, Daisy? ” 

“ Why, this thing doesn’t hang right. If I 
put it on, won’t you pin it over, please? ” 

“Can’t you wait till I come back?” began 
Patty, but Daisy already had the organdie skirt 
over her head, and was pushing her arms 
through. “ Oh, I can’t, Patty; you’ll get down- 
stairs, and the boys will begin to jolly you about 
your birthday, and you won’t get back for half 
an hour! Please fix it, it won’t take you a 
minute.” 

“ You do it, Mona,” said Patty, looking plead- 
ingly at her. 

“ I’d be glad to,” said Mona, “ but I can’t do 
a thing like that. Daisy knows I can’t.” 

“ No, she can’t,” said Daisy, as. her head 
emerged from the fluffy skirt. “ Now, Patsy, 
it won’t take you a minute, and you can’t be in 
such a hurry to go downstairs. Luncheon isn’t 
till twenty after one, — Adele said so, she’s got 
that twenty racket on the brain ! And it’s only 
[ 35 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

twenty minutes past twelve now. So pin up that 
back breadth, there’s a dear.” 

Hurriedly, Patty did as Daisy asked, but so 
hurriedly that she made the skirt hang more 
crookedly than before. 

“Oh,” cried Daisy, “that’s awful! Well, if 
you can’t fix it right, at least make it like it 
was before ! What’s the matter with you, 
Patty? Your fingers are trembling with nervous- 
ness! Never mind the skirt. Just put it back 
as it was. No, not that way, — a little more to 
the right! ” 

Daisy was standing before a long mirror, and 
Patty, on the floor beside her, tried to pin the 
back breadths as they were when she unpinned 
them. But the more she tried, the more crook- 
edly the skirt hung. For Patty knew the min- 
utes were flying, and Bill couldn’t wait very 
long. 

“There!” she said, at last; “is that right, 
Daisy?” 

“ It isn’t quite straight,” said Daisy, craning 
her neck to look behind her; “however, as 
you’re in such a terrible hurry ” 

But Patty had run away and was half-way 
downstairs, before Daisy completed the sen- 
tence. 


[36] 


A Broken Tryst 

“ Good gracious! ” said Mona; “ I never saw 
Patty act like that before; her birthday has up- 
set her. She was almost cross ! ” 

“Well, I’m entirely cross!” and Daisy 
pouted. “ This is horrid yet, and Patty could 
have fixed it, if she only would ! ” 

Patty’s next trouble was to get past the group 
of young men on the veranda, without being 
seen. To accomplish this, she went through the 
library, where Jim Kenerley sat at the desk. 
Pie was holding the telephone. 

“ Well ! ” he said, looking up at her; “ if you 
aren’t just in the nick of time ! I was just going 
to call you ! ” 

“Oh, Jim, don’t stop me now — please don’t! 
I’m — I’ve got an awfully important- ” 

“ Nonsense, girl, you won’t say ‘ don’t ’ when 
you know who’s talking! It’s your father, on 
the long distance from New York! Pie wants 
to give your birthday greetings. Plere, take 
the thing! ” 

Jim held out the receiver to her, and as 
her father was on the long distance wire, 
Patty couldn’t very well refuse to speak to 
him. 

A hasty glance showed her it was half-past 
twelve, and Patty resolved to tell her father 
[ 37 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

that she was busy now, and to call her up again 
later. 

But Mr. Fairfield broke out into such a flow of 
nonsense, that Patty couldn’t make him realise 
she was in earnest. 

“ And so my little girl is twenty years old ! ” he 
said. “ Do you feel very antique? Has your 
hair turned gray yet? ” 

“ No; but say, daddy, wait a minute ” 

“ Yes, yes, I know ! You wish you were home 
with your old father, — oh, I know your blar- 
ney ! ” 

“No, not that, daddy dear, but listen! I 
want ” 

“ Yes, you rogue, you well know that whatever 
you ask for on your birthday you’re sure to get. 
Why, I remember the day you were four years 
old, you said ” 

“ Oh, father, do let me tell you ” 

“What? Didn’t get that! The connection 
isn’t very good.” 

“Then wait till afternoon! It will be better 
then.” 

“ No, no ! I hear all right now. I expect the 
wires were crossed. And here’s Nan, — she 
wants to speak to you.” 

“ Hello, Nan. Oh, Nan, dearie, do help me 
[ 38 ] 


A Broken Tryst 

out! I want to get away — I must get away! 
I’ve only a minute, — it’s too late now, I’m 
afraid ” 

“ I can’t hear you very well, Patty. Can you 
hear me? ” 

“Yes, I can hear you. But, Nan, listen! I 
want to stop now and talk to you later, see? 
—later! ” 

“Paper! What paper? No, I don’t under- 
stand. But never mind, I want to read you a 
letter I’ve just received. You can hear me all 
right? Let me see — oh, it’s from Louise 
Graham, — I forgot I hadn’t told you 
that, — well, she says, ‘ 1 hope Mr. Fair- 
field,’ — no, that isn’t what I meant to read 
you, it’s ” 

“ Please, Nan, wait till to-morrow, I’m ” 

“ Horrid? No, she isn’t horrid! ” 

“ I didn’t say horrid! I said to-morrow! ” 

“ No,, Patty, she didn’t say to-morrow, she 
says next week some time, — about Thurs- 
day ” 

“ Oh, Nan, do listen ! Try to hear what I say ! 
I want you to let me off now and talk to me this 
afternoon or to-morrow. Don’t you get that f 
Do listen ! ” 

“I am listening, Patty; I heard this after- 

[ 39 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

noon or to-morrow, but not the rest. Tell me 
again.” 

“ I want to go away now! I have an engage- 
ment! ” 

“Announce your engagement! Patty Fair- 
field, what are you talking about? ” 

“No! I didn’t say that!” 

“I should hope you didn’t! Well, what did 
you say? ” 

“Oh! ” exclaimed Patty in exasperation; “ I 
said what time is it?” 

“ Goodness, what a thing to ask over a long 
distance telephone! Well, it’s ten minutes to 
one.” 

Patty’s heart went down with a bump. Ten 
minutes to one! And Bill’s train left at one. 
And it took a good twenty minutes to reach the 
station ! 


[ 40 ] 


* 


CHAPTER III 


SWEET AND TWENTY 

P ATTY never quite knew what she said to 
Nan during the rest of that telephone 
talk. As soon as she realised that it was 
too late to see Bill at all, she pulled herself to- 
gether and talked to Nan. She listened to the 
letter Nan read, and she heard all the good 
wishes and compliments from both her parents, 
but her mind was all on the fact that she had 
not kept the appointment with Little Billee. 

To be sure, it had not been her fault, but Bill 
didn’t know that. And, beside, she had told 
him carelessly, that she’d be there at the gate, 
“ if she thought of it ” ! She hadn’t meant that, 
and had only said it out of coquetry, meaning to 
make up for it when she saw him. Why, noth- 
ing would have kept her, voluntarily, from go- 
ing to him! But she had been kept quite in- 
voluntarily, first by Daisy, and then by the tele- 
phone from New York. 

Well, Patty was too much of a good sport to 

[4i] 


Patty’s Romance 

cry over spilled milk. She couldn’t help it, now, 
at any rate, and it wouldn’t be fair to make 
Adele or the others uncomfortable over the 
affair. 

So, swallowing her disappointment and regret, 
Patty finally left the telephone and joined the 
group on the veranda. 

“ Well, your father will have a fine telephone 
bill ! ” exclaimed Jim. “ Next year, suppose 
you spend your birthday in New York, and tele- 
phone up here ! We’ll get more of your society 
that way.” 

Patty laughed at his nonsense, and in her en- 
deavour to forget her trouble, began to chatter 
gay foolishness with the boys. 

“ I’m used to your birthdays,” said Phil Van 
Reypen. “ I was at one last year, down at your 
seaside home. You were quite grown-up then; 
you look a full year younger now.” 

“ Yes, at my advanced age girls get younger 
in appearance every year.” 

“ Then soon you’ll be a babe in arms,” said 
Kit, “ and I’ll come round and wheel you out 
in a perambulator.” 

“ Why perambulator if you’re a babe in 
arms?” asked Phil. “I’ll come round and 
carry you out for an airing.” 

[ 42 ] 


Sweet and Twenty 

41 Good work! ” cried Hal. “ I’ll get in prac- 
tice now.” And he picked Patty up in his strong 
arms and carried her like a baby, up and down 
the veranda. 

“ Unhand me, villain ! ” Patty cried. “ I see 
your sister approaching, she’ll scold you well for 
such antics! ” 

“ It’s twenty minutes after one,” Adele an- 
nounced. “ Everybody come now to the Birth- 
day Luncheon feast! Oh, here comes Mr. 
Peyton! I was afraid you weren’t coming.” 

“ Oh, no, you can’t lose me like that. But I 
went down to the train with Farnsworth, and 
just returned.” 

“ Too bad he had to go,” said Adele, regret- 
fully. “ He telephoned me he’d been called 
away on important business.” 

“ Yes,” said Peyton; “that business of his 
keeps him on the hop, skip, and jump. But it’s 
a big deal and I expect he’ll put it over. Poor 
old Bill! He wanted to stay awfully. He al- 
most did, at the last. But he’s such a stickler; 
if anybody expects him, he never disappoints. 
He says the meanest thing in the world is not 
to keep one’s word.” 

Patty listened to this with downcast eyes. She 
knew Bill had not told Peyton of his appoint- 
[ 43 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

ment with her, and that there could be nothing 
personal in Bob’s words, but they cut her like a 
knife. She'had broken her word to Little Bil- 
lee, though it had not been her fault. To be 
sure, she had not told him positively she would 
come, but she had fully meant to go, and had 
meant him so to understand it. 

However, it would not do to show any especial 
regret at his absence, so she only said, “ It’s too 
bad! I wish Little Billee could have stayed,” 
with just the right tone of polite regret. 

The luncheon table was beautiful. Decorated 
in yellows, there were great bunches of daffodils 
and jonquils, and silver dishes of yellow iced 
cakes and confections, and yellow shaded can- 
dles, — which latter, however, Jim promptly put 
out, saying the sunlight was yellow enough for 
him. 

“Why, where’s your yellow frock, Patty?” 
asked Adele, suddenly, and Patty looked up be- 
wildered. 

“ I forgot to put it on,” she said, slowly. 

“Forgot it! And I fixed all these yellow 
fusses on purpose to match it ! ” 

“ I know,” said Patty, contritely; “ but, truly, 
Adele, somehow, I just forgot all about it.” 

[ 44 ] 


Sweet and Twenty 

Which was quite true, for Patty had been in 
such haste to dress to go out to see Bill, that she 
had flung on her little blue gown, meaning to 
change on her return, and after being delayed 
so, had forgotten all about it. 

“ I know why,” said Jim, coming to Patty’s 
rescue. “ Patty had a long telephone from 
home and father, and there was so much to be 
said that it left her no time to think of dress- 
ing up.” 

“That’s so,” cried Patty; “and Nan must 
needs read me a long letter from a friend 
of hers, and, somehow, the time all flied 
away ! ” 

“Never mind,” said Hal; “you lopk sweet 
enough in that blue racket. If you looked any 
sweeter, I’d eat you! ” 

Patty gave him a smile which made him de- 
clare now he would eat her, and then the pres- 
ents began. 

They were brought in on a huge tray, and were 
all done up in yellow tissue paper and tied with 
yellow ribbons. Such a lot of bundles! Patty 
was just overcome. She had expected several 
little remembrances, but there seemed enough 
to furnish a store. 

With help from the others she opened them. 

[ 45 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

Nearly all were accompanied by doggerel 
verses, for Adele had asked that this be 
done. 

Mona’s gift chanced to be opened first. It 
was a beautiful scarf of rare point lace, far too 
rich for a young girl to wear, but Mona had ex- 
travagant tastes, and not always a sense of the 
fitness of things. 

Pinned to it was a card which said: 

“ Just a little piece of lace, 

For our Patty’s pretty face; 

Just a scarf that she may wear 
On her curly golden hair; 

Or, if she prefers to deck 
Her exquisite, dimpled neck. 

Or, if she would cut a dash, 

Let her wear it for a sash. 

With good wishes from the donor, 

Your beloved, loving Mona ! ” 

“ Oh, Mona,” cried Patty, laughing as she 
read the lines, “ it is beautiful ! Much too beau- 
tiful for little me ! It ought to be in a collec- 
tion.” 

“ It is in a collection,” said Bob Peyton, look- 
ing at the great lot of gifts. “ But I fear my 
[ 46 ] 


Sweet and Twenty 

offering is too simple. I didn’t know we were 
to give museum pieces.” 

“ But this is from Mona,” said Patty, look- 
ing at him reprovingly, “ my very dear friend! 
Of course you could not presume to give me 
more than a mere trifle. We’re only recent and 
slight acquaintances.” 

“ Then I’m all right, for I know my gift is a 
mere trifle, but it has a beautiful pome to it! I 
sat up all night to compose it.” 

“ I’ll open yours next, then, for I can’t wait 
to read that pome ! ” 

The gift from Peyton was a book, one of the 
new novels of the season, and the “ pome ” was 
this: 


“ Patty, when you chance to look 
In this interesting book, 

Do not read a word you see, 

Just sit still and think of me ! ” 

“ That is a lovely pome! ” cried Patty; “ and 
I’ll probably do just what it says, for I don’t 
care very much about reading.” 

“ Good for you ! ” returned Peyton. “ You’re 
a girl after my own heart! ” 

“ She’ll get it then,” laughed Kit. “ Every 

[ 47 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

heart Patty goes after she annexes, sure as 
fate ! ” 

u For that pretty speech, I’ll open your gift 
next, Kit,” and Patty took up a flat parcel. 

It was a book of new songs, one that Patty 
particularly wanted, and she smiled glad appre- 
ciation at the donor. 

“ Splendid, Kit ! ” she exclaimed. “ I did want 
this set of songs and I’m so glad to have them. 
Now for the verse.” 

“ I’d write a note, but one note can’t express 
A thousandth part of all your loveliness; 

So in this book a thousand notes I bring, 

Oh, think of me, when all these notes you 
sing!” 

“Goodness, gracious me!” exclaimed Patty; 
u I shall be so puffed up with pride and wanity, 
I won’t know what to do, if I read any more of 
these complimentary notes ! ” 

“ Take this next,” said Jim, “ while you’re in 
an humble frame of mind.” 

Patty untied the big parcel Jim handed to her, 
and there was a long silver frame holding three 
photographs, of Adele, Jim, and Baby May. 
“How lovely!” she cried; “and just what 
[ 48 ] 


Sweet and Twenty 

I wanted ! Oh, these are the dearest por- 
traits ! ” 

“ Yes, we’re a good-looking bunch,” said Jim, 
complacently. “ They all say the kiddy is the 
image of her dad.” 

“ I think she’s Adele right over again,” said 
Patty, laughing at him, “ but she has your 
heavenly disposition ! ” 

“ Just saved your bacon, that time! ” and Jim 
grinned at her. “ I was about to get mad at 
you ! ” 

“ Now for the poem,” and Patty read aloud 
this gem of rhyme: 

“ One,, two, three ! 

May and Adele and Me ! 

All for thee! 

Pretty Pat-tee ! ” 

“ Exquisite ! ” said Patty, clasping her hands 
and rolling her eyes skyward. “ Never 
did I hear a more thrilling, more poetic effu- 
sion ! ” 

“ I knew you’d like it,” and Jim looked fool- 
ishly modest. “ I think it’s pretty fine, my- 
self.” 

“ It sure is ! ” and then Patty took up a very 
[ 49 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

small box. It contained an enamelled daisy pin, 
from Daisy herself. The verse said : 

“ With love the daisy lifts its eye 
To greet the sunshine in the sky. 

So, Patty, I look up to thee, 

With all the love that in me be ! ” 

Daisy looked a little troubled at the shout of 
laughter that greeted this effusion, and Patty 
quickly said: 

“That’s the best yet, Daisy! I just love 
it! ” 

“ It didn’t go very well at the last,” said Daisy, 
seriously; “but I couldn’t make it any better.” 

“ It’s all right ! ” declared Kit. “ It shows 
true genius, untrammelled by rules, and it rings 
true.” 

“ It is true,” said Daisy, and she gave Patty 
a smile of real love and friendship. 

“ Now look at mine,” said Phil Van Reypen, 
eagerly. “ I can’t wait another minute to see 
if you like it. But of course, you’ll say you do ! 
You’re so amiable to-day, being your birth- 
day •” 

“ Patty’s always amiable ! ” cried Daisy, who 
was a staunch friend. 

[ 50 ] 


Sweet and Twenty 

“You think so?” said Phil, raising his eye- 
brows. “ That’s because you don’t see her in 
her tantrums! She’s fearful then! ” 

Everybody laughed, well knowing good- 
natured Patty never gave way to tantrums. 

Phil’s gift was a hatpin. 

“ I know it’s bad taste to give a lady jewelry,” 
said Phil, as Patty took it from the box; “ that’s 
why I did it,” he added, calmly. 

But the head of the pin was a bit of old, carved 
jade, so somehow it didn’t seem like jewelry, 
and Patty was delighted with it. She stuck it in 
her hair, through her mop of yellow curls, and 
then read the accompanying verse. 

“ I smile when I bethink me of that happy, 
golden day. 

When pretty Patty came to earth, and made 
the whole world May; 

But I weep when I bethink me of the sad old 
world forlorn, 

Those long six thousand Springtimes that 
passed ere she was born ! ” 

“Why, Phil!” cried Patty,, with sparkling 
eyes; “ that’s real poetry! ” 

“ Well, I like that! ” exclaimed Jim. “ As if 

[5i] 


Patty’s Romance 

the others weren’t real poetry too ! Patty, I’m 
ashamed of you ! ” 

“ They’re all the loveliest pomes ever writ! ” 
Patty declared, beaming impartially on all. 
“ My sakes ! if here isn’t little Chub’s left to 
the last!” 

Hal Ferris was called Chub because he was so 
big, and his gift was a large-sized one, that 
Patty had to have help to open. But at last it 
was revealed, a particularly fine photograph of 
u Mona Lisa,” which pleased Patty beyond all 
words. She gave Hal a look of gratitude and 
opened the envelope that held his verse. 

“ Patty, Patty, punkin-eater ! 

Isn’t anybody sweeter ! 

Patty, Patty, punkin pie ! 

No one loves you much as I ! ” 

“ It’s a nice sentiment,” and Patty smiled at 
him, “ but it isn’t poetic enough to go with such 
a lovely present ! ” 

“ Oh, pshaw, for the present! It’s the pome 
I’m stuck on. I worked like everything over 
it, and now you scorn it ! ” 

“ ’Deed I don’t scorn it! I think it’s a gem 
of poorest ray serene! I’m going to have an 
[ 52 ] 


Sweet and Twenty 

album and paste these verses all in it, and yours 
goes on the first page ! There, now will you be 
good? ” 

“ I want mine on the first page,” declared Kit. 
“ And I! ” “ And I ! ” said several others. 
“All right,” said Patty, “that’s easy! I’ll 
have a big book, with only one page in it, and 
put them all on that! ” 


[ 53 ] 


CHAPTER IV 


FRIENDLY ADVICE 

“ T OW,” said Jim, after the luncheon 
X party had left the table, and were 
grouped on the veranda, u this is an 
all-comers’ race. You can do what you like till 
five o’clock, and then you must congregate here 
again for a surprise.” 

“ It’s after three, now,” said Phil, as he lit a 
cigarette. “ I’m going to stay right here till 
surprise time comes.” 

“ Lazy boy! ” said Patty. “ I’m going to play 
six sets of tennis and go for a long walk through 
the woods, and take a motor ride, and maybe go 
over to the golf links after that.” 

“Yes, you are!” cried Kit. “I know your 
grand plans and how they fizzle out. You’ll 
dawdle round till it’s too late to do any of those 
things ! ” 

“Aren’t you the mind-reader!” and Patty 
flashed a smile at him. “ Well, just for that, 

I’m going straight to the tennis-court ” 

[ 54 ] 


Friendly Advice 

“ And watch somebody else play! ” put in Kit. 

“Exactly! ” said Patty, calmly. “I think it 
would be nice if you and Mona would play Hal 
and Daisy. The rest of us will look on and 
applaud.” 

“ Great! ” cried Hal, springing up. “ Where 
are the rackets? ” 

And soon the game was in progress, just as 
Patty had planned it. Patty was not a lazy 
girl, but she was not strong and she tired rather 
easily. She knew that there was a lot of her 
birthday festivity yet to come, and she would be 
foolish to use up all her strength playing tennis 
and be tired out for her evening dance. So she 
and Adele sat on the rustic settees and watched 
the game, while Peyton and Phil strolled about 
or lay on the turf at their feet. 

And then Adele was called away to look after 
some household matters and Bob Peyton begged 
Patty to go for a little stroll. 

“ Just through the orchard and back,” he said. 
“ It will do you good to catch a little exer- 
cise.” 

“ All right,” agreed Patty, going with him. 

These two had met several times since the day 
Peyton had found her in her stalled motor-car, 
and had taken her to his sister’s house. And 
[ 55 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

they had become good friends, though, of 
course, Patty did not feel so well acquainted 
with him as with the other men of the house 
party, most of whom she had known a long 
time. 

“ You’re a spoiled darling of fortune, aren’t 
you, Miss Fairfield?” Peyton said, as they 
walked through the little orchard gate. 

“ I’m a darling of fortune, but I’m not 
spoiled,” returned Patty, with spirit. 

“ Yes, you are,” and Peyton looked at her 
coolly. “ You do as you like without consider- 
ing the feelings of others.” 

“Why, Mr. Peyton!” and Patty stared at 
him. “ I deny what you say, but even if it were 
true, I don’t consider you are on a sufficiently 
intimate footing with me to tell me of it.” 

“No; but I’m on a sufficiently intimate foot- 
ing with Bill Farnsworth to tell you of it.” 

“Just what do you mean?” and Patty spoke 
calmly, though a red spot appeared in either 
cheek. 

“ I mean that when you told him you’d see him 
for a moment this morning you ought to have 
done so.” 

“ Indeed! And did he tell you to lecture me 
about it? ” 

[ 56 ] 


Friendly Advice 

“ No, he didn’t!” 

“ And don’t you think Mr. Farnsworth big 
enough and capable enough to look out for his 
own interests? ” 

Peyton looked at her, and as he looked, the 
anger died out of his eyes and he looked only 
sorry. 

“ Forgive me, Miss Fairfield,” he said. “ I 
have no right to mention the subject to you, 
I dare say, but — but if you had seen Farns- 
worth when he came back from the Kenerleys’ 
without seeing you, you would feel sorry for 
him. He waited as long as he possibly could, 
and then he had to fly for his train.” 

Patty looked at Peyton curiously. “ He didn’t 
tell you to speak to me about it? ” she asked. 

“ No, of course not. He didn’t mention it to 
me at all, but I couldn’t help seeing how things 
were.” 

“ You must be a very good friend of Mr. 
Farnsworth’s.” 

“ We’re old chums. I admire him and care 
for him more than any man I know. He is far 
finer than most people realise.” 

“ I know he is,” said Patty, softly. 

“ Then why do you torment him so? You are 
a flirt, I know; every one says you are. And 
[ 57 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

flirting is all right with men like Ferris or my- 
self who understand what you’re up to. But 
Bill, now ” 

“ Then I may flirt with you, Mr. Peyton? ” 

“Yes, and welcome! But I warn you you’ll 
get as good as you give ! But Bill now ” 

“Well, what about Bill?” 

“ Why, he’s so big-hearted and simple-minded 
and straightforward that he doesn’t understand 
coquetry, and when you said you would see him 
this morning, he thought you meant it ” 

“ I did mean it ! ” and Patty’s blue eyes flashed. 
“ It — it wasn’t my fault that I wasn’t 
there ! ” 

“Honestly! Is that so? Well, I’m glad! I 
hated to think it of you, — and now it’s all 
right!” 

“ You see it was this way ” 

“ No, don’t tell me ! It’s none of my business 
why you weren’t there. But if you meant to be, 
it’s all right. Whew! I wish old Bill knew 
that! ” 

“ What did he say? ” asked Patty, curiously. 

“ He didn’t say anything, but he looked as if 
he’d lost his last friend. Not that he sulked! 
Bill isn’t that sort. Indeed, I don’t suppose he 
thought I noticed his quietness. He just came 
[ 58 ] 


Friendly Advice 

flying back and told sister good-bye, and scooted 
for the train. I went over to the station with 
him in the car, and he said almost nothing, and 
jumped when I spoke to him. Now, look here, 
Miss Fairfield, I’ve no right to say this to you, 
I know, but I am too good a friend of Bill 
Farnsworth to sit quietly by and see him eat his 
heart out for a chit of a girl who is only playing 
with him.” 

“ I think I’ll go back to the house, Mr. Peyton. 
I’ve never been talked to like this before, and 
I don’t quite know how to take it.” 

“ There ! I’ve offended you, I suppose ! ” 

“ You most certainly have! ” 

“ Well, I am sorry. But I had to say that to 
you, because I thought — I hoped — that if I did, 
you might stop flirting with Bill, even if you 
never spoke to me again.” 

Patty stopped short in the path and turned and 
faced him. 

“ Mr. Peyton,” she said, looking straight at 
him, “ I know you think I’m a brainless little 
fool, and, worse, a silly coquette. Well, per- 
haps I am. You think I’ve been spoiled by 
flattery and attention till I’m a conceited popin- 
jay. Well, perhaps I am. But I want to tell 
you one thing: I recognise and admire true 
[ 59 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

friendship when I see it! And a friendship be- 
tween one man and another that makes one 
speak as you have spoken to me is a wonderful 
and beautiful thing! I am not quite so rattle- 
pated as you think, and I want to thank you for 
what you have said to me. More than that, I 
congratulate Bill Farnsworth on having such a 
friend.” 

“ Miss Fairfield, — you — you take my breath 
away! ” 

“ Yes, because you thought me a silly-pate, 
who didn’t know the meaning of anything real 
or true or deep ! Now, you needn’t think it was 
easy for me to tell you what I just told you, for 
you have hurt my pride and my vanity and my 
self-conceit. And you are quite right in thinking 
that I possess a lot of those unattractive quali- 
ties. But I am truthful and I am honest, and I 
admit the justice of all you said. Now, we will 
go back to the house, and on the way we will 
talk of the weather and avoid personalities. 
Then, hereafter, when we meet, it will be as the 
merest acquaintances ” 

“ And not friends? ” 

“ Friendly, of course, but not friends in the 
true sense of the word.” 

“ Why? ” 


Friendly Advice 

Peyton spoke the word slowly and firmly, and 
waited for the answer! 

“ Because,” and Patty looked him straight in 
the eye, “ you accused me of a fault — and — it 
was true ! No girl is going to stand that ! ” 

Patty looked very lovely. The flush of anger 
was on her cheeks, but her scarlet lips had a 
wistful little droop of regret, and her blue eyes 
were full of honest hurt that went right to Bob 
Peyton’s heart. 

u Forgive me ” he began, impetuously. 

“ There is nothing to forgive,” said Patty, 
gently. “You are in the right, I in the wrong. 
If it pleases you, you may know that you have 
given me something to think about.” 

And then Patty smiled a little. 

Peyton looked at her curiously. “ And you,” 
he said, “ have given me something to think 
about.” 

“ But we won’t think now! ” and then Patty 
smiled outright, and started along the path 
toward home. 

“ No,” and Peyton met her mood half-way, 
and chatted lightly about trifles until they were 
back to the tennis-court. 

“Where have you two been?” cried Mona. 
“ We finished the set long ago.” 

[6 1] 


Patty’s Romance 

44 Just wandering about, getting acquainted,” 
said Patty. 44 What shall us do now? Who’s 
for a little motor-ride?” 

Most of them were, and, piling into the big 
touring-car, they went for a few miles’ dash, 
with strict injunctions from Adele to be back by 
twenty minutes after five. 

Promptly at the time appointed the laughing 
crowd returned, and Jim announced that the 
next performance would be his surprise. 

44 But it’s time for tea,” objected Adele, 44 and 
the Birthday Tea is more or less of a cere- 
mony.” 

44 Never mind, my dear,” said her husband, 
44 you do as I say.” 

44 Yes, sir,” said Adele, with mock meekness, 
and the whole crowd trooped after their host. 

44 This way,” and Jim led them through the 
rose-garden and down a moss-covered path but 
little used. Then, as they turned a corner, they 
saw a house, a new and small house of Japanese 
effect and most picturesque. 

“ It’s the new Tea House,” said Jim, proudly. 
44 Walk in.” 

Sure enough, it was a dear little Japanese 
Tea House, of the kind most liked on country 
estates. Mr. Kenerley had had it set up with- 
[62] 


Friendly Advice 

out his wife’s knowledge, knowing it would 
greatly please her. 

And it did. “How darling!” Adele ex- 
claimed. “ I’ve wanted one so much ! Isn’t it 
great, girls?” 

“ Oh, it is! ” cried Patty. “ The prettiest one 
I ever saw. I’m so glad you have it, Adele. 
And it’s lovely to christen it on my birthday.” 

“ That’s what I thought,” said Jim. “ A 
Patty-birthday present to my wife. Great 
scheme, eh ? ” 

All agreed that it was, and then the servants 
came, bringing the tea-things. 

The little house had but one room, but that 
was of goodly size and furnished with tables, 
chairs, and settees of Japanese willow. The 
tea-things were of Japanese ware, and the vari- 
ous decorations were Japanese prints, fans, 
scrolls, and all the queer odds and ends that 
come from the flowery kingdom. 

“Perfectly dear!” exclaimed Patty, as she 
plumped up the blue and white Japanese couch 
cushions and then plumped herself down among 
them. “ Jim, how did you ever get it up so un- 
beknownst?” 

“ Well, this part of the garden has been little 
used, and it’s sort of shut off from the view of 

[63] 


Patty’s Romance 

the house. And these things come knocked 
down, you know, all ready to be set up in short 
order.” 

“ Well, it was awful clever of you, and I think 
you’re a wonder! ” 

Everybody agreed with Patty, and the Tea 
House was voted a great success. There were 
Japanese lanterns hung all round, outside it, 
which, Jim explained, were to be lighted for the 
evening fete. 

“ Glorious! ” cried Patty. “ What a flirting- 
place ! ” 

In her light-hearted way, she said this without 
thinking, and suddenly looking up, she caught 
Bob Peyton’s eye. She flushed a little and 
glanced down. 

“Glorious, indeed!” shouted Hal. “Flirt 
with me, will you, Patty?” 

“ No, me,” cried Kit. “ I’m the best little old 
flirter you know, — am’n’t I, Patty? ” 

“ You’re all gorgeous flirters,” declared Patty, 
quickly deciding to treat this matter lightly, as 
she always had done. “ I’ll take you each in 
turn, after Mona and Daisy get tired of you.” 

“ Me for Daisy! ” returned Kit, saucily. “ I 
can always see you in New York, Patty, but 
Daisy is on an angel’s visit.” 

[64] 


Friendly Advice 

Patty smiled at Kit, for they understood each 
other, and he knew how Patty disliked to be 
flattered before people. “ Fair play, Kit,” she 
said. “ Just for that, you must dance with me 
twice.” 

“ All right. That goes! First and second? ” 

“ No, indeed! Last and extra, — if there is 
one.” 

“ All right, my lady. Last and extra before 
supper, and we’ll see about it afterwards.” 

“ I wish I’d been born in Japan,” said Mona, 
looking very handsome as she flung an em- 
broidered scarf round her and twirled an open 
Japanese parasol behind her head. 

“ I wish you had,” said Phil, admiringly. 
“ You’d be a dandy Jap lady.” 

“ You would, Mona,” said Patty. “ Here, let 
me fix you,” and without really taking down her 
heavy black hair, she gave it a few deft touches 
that transformed Mona into a Japanese at once. 

“ Stunning!” said Kit, and Patty added an- 
other scarf, snatched from a chair-back. 

Mona was a picture, and they all said so. 

“ But I’d rather be an Indian,” said Daisy 
Dow. “ I’ve always wished I’d been born a 
redskin princess.” 

“ Can’t fix you up in that role, honey,” said 

[65] 


Patty’s Romance 

Patty, looking about. “ Nothing doing here but 
Jappy work. Try again.” 

“ Oh, I don’t want to be it now,” said Daisy, 
laughing. “ I only mean I wish I had been one, 
in a previous transmigration or whatever they 
call that business.” 

“ Never mind,” said Kit, “ maybe you can be 
one next time. What do you wish you were, 
Patsy?” 

“ Nothing special. I think we Americans are 
the people ! ” 

“ Yes, of course,” said Peyton; “ but haven’t 
you any ambition ? What do you want to grow 
up to be?” 

“ Just an upright, downright, all-right 
woman,” said Patty. 

“You’re that now!” declared Phil Van 
Reypen. 


[ 66 ] 


CHAPTER V 


AN APPLE BLOSSOM GIFT 

T HE Birthday dinner was over and the 
Birthday dance was about to begin. The 
house party had been augmented by 
many young people from the village of Fern 
Falls and from the surrounding country houses. 
As Patty had suggested, a great many of them 
had come attired to represent “ Days,” but also 
many were in various sort of fancy costumes, 
and many also in civilised dance frocks. 

Naturally there were many duplicate “ Days ” 
and Fourth of July and Christmas had many 
representatives. But the costumes widely 
varied and a Fourth of July garbed like a God- 
dess of Liberty bowed smilingly to the same 
“ Day ” in a U. S. A. uniform. 

Patty was an “ April Fool.” There were sev- 
eral of these, in the traditional cap and bells. 
Patty’s was really a “ Folly ” costume that she 
had worn before, and decided on as appropriate 
and becoming. 


[67] 


Patty’s Romance 

Very dainty she looked in the short skirts of 
green and white, cut with overlapping points 
and a little gilt bell on each point. Peaked 
green shoes with bells on and a Folly’s cap with 
many bells, and in her hand a bauble such as 
jesters carry. 

Hal Ferris was “ St. Patrick’s Day,” and in 
his green suit, with a green high hat, and a 
“ shillelah,” he declared his colouring suited 
Patty so well they must be partners for the 
evening. 

So they stood together to receive the guests, 
for Adele declared it was Patty’s party and she 
must do the honours. 

And very prettily she did them, for Patty was 
a born hostess, and intuitively said the right 
thing to everybody. 

Jim Kenerley wore his Santa Claus suit, and 
Adele wore Patty’s May Queen costume, for 
these they could arrange with little trouble and 
they were both effective. 

Mona was stunning in a Goddess of Liberty 
costume. Her fine figure and handsome face 
were nobly set off by red, white, and blue, and 
many thought her the most beautiful girl 
present. 

Daisy was a valentine. Her frilled organdie 

[68 ] 


An Apple Blossom Gift * 

skirt had been persuaded to hang right, and it 
was covered with hearts and darts and cupids. 

There were other St. Valentine’s Days, some 
representing the old Saint himself, with his 
long white beard and bag of love missives. 

Phil Van Reypen was Washington’s Birthday. 
He wore a fine Colonial costume and the velvet 
knee-breeches and satin coat, with wide lace 
sleeve ruffles, proved very becoming to the 
young scion of the old Knickerbockers. 

Kit Cameron was Labor Day. While not a 
picturesque garb of itself, the blue overalls and 
white shirt sleeves suited his stalwart good 
looks, and many admiring glances followed the 
“ knight of labour.” 

Bob Peyton didn’t wear an entire fancy cos- 
tume. But all over his evening clothes were 
pinned bunches of flowers of all sorts, and he 
calmly announced he was “ May Day.” 

There was much fun and laughter as the guests 
appeared and each new “ Day ” was hailed 
with shouts of applause. 

Patty and Hal led the Grand March and their 
green costumes were strikingly harmonious. 

Hal claimed the first dance, and soon the 
music for it began, and they went whirling about 
the room. 


[69] 


Patty’s Romance 

Patty loved to dance and no new step was 
ever too difficult or complicated for her to learn 
at once. Hal, too, was a good dancer, and the 
green couple flew up and down the room to the 
admiration of the onlookers. 

Other dances followed, and Patty was be- 
sieged by would-be partners, all eager to dance 
with the belle of the ball. 

For Patty, as always, was the belle. Hand- 
some Mona was greatly admired; breezy, 
happy-go-lucky Daisy was a favourite ; but 
Patty, sweet-faced, smiling, coquettish Patty, 
won the hearts of all. Always enjoying her- 
self, she made others enjoy themselves, and 
if she spied a wall-flower, — without any one’s 
knowing how it happened, — very soon that 
girl was on the dancing-floor with a good 
partner. 

But Patty’s lack of robust strength would not 
let her dance as long or as often as she would 
have liked. 

“ Give me this one,” begged Phil, coming 
toward her when the evening was about half 
over. 

“ I’d love to, Phil, but honest, I’m too tired. 
I’ve got to rest a few minutes. But dance it 
with Laura Crosby, won’t you? She’s an aw- 
[ 70 ] 


An Apple Blossom Gift 

fully nice girl and a good dancer. Somehow, she 
seems a little out of it to-night. Now, listen,” 
as Phil made a quizzical face. “ You do as I 
say! Go and dance with her, and not only that, 
but act as if you were having the time of your 
life! See? Then all the other men will ask 
her. Now you fly ! ” 

With a glance of understanding, Phil flew. He 
did exactly as Patty had told him. Pie asked 
Miss Crosby to dance, and then he led her to 
the middle of the room and chatted and smiled, 
and when the dance was over kept on for a few 
steps as if loath to stop. Nor was he entirely 
acting a part. Laura Crosby, who had felt 
down-hearted at being without a partner, woke 
up, and was bright and attractive. No sooner 
did Phil release her than another man asked 
her to dance, and from then on she was at no 
loss for partners. 

“ Didn’t I tell you so? ” cried Patty, with shin- 
ing eyes, as Phil saw her again later. “ That 
girl was mortified and couldn’t brace up until 
she began to dance, then she was all right. 
See?” 

“ Of course I see. And it’s just like you, 
Patty. No other girl would have thought of 
all that, nor would have thought of the matter 
[7i] 


Patty’s Romance 

at all. Now are you rested enough for one 
turn? ” 

“ Yes, indeed,” and Patty jumped up. “ Pm 
not really tired, you know, but if I dance every 
dance, I’ll be good for nothing to-morrow.” 

“ Dear little girl! ” and Van Reypen took her 
in his arms. “ Just once round the room, and 
then, if you like, we’ll stop.” 

Though not as expert as some of the others, 
Van Reypen was a careful dancer, and Patty 
always felt confidence in him. 

“ I like to dance with you,, Phil,” she said, 
“ because I know you won’t run into anybody or 
upset anything.” 

“ Thank you ! ” he returned, drily. “ And do 
most of your partners step on your toes, and fall 
over the furniture? ” 

“ No,” and Patty laughed. “ I don’t mean 
that, but with some of them I have to think 
where we’re going next. With you, I just 
drift.” 

“ Drift on, gentle maiden! I’ll see that we’re 
not run into. You weigh ’most as much as 
an able-bodied thistledown, but I’ll try to 
get you around all right. There, they’ve 
stopped! ” 

As the music ceased, and they went toward the 
[ 72 ] 


An Apple Blossom Gift 

chairs that surrounded the room, Kit Cameron 
came to Patty. 

“ Ours next! ” he exclaimed. “ The last be- 
fore supper, just as you said; and the extra, if 
there is one, and I’ll see to it that there is one ! 
How is our danseuse tripping to-night, Van ? Is 
she in good form? ” 

“ Like a fairy,” said Philip, “ but she’s not a 
Sandow Girl, you know, — don’t try two in suc- 
cession.” 

“All right. Come on, Princess; I’ll watch 
your step, and if you’re tired, you can’t coax an- 
other dance out of me, see ! ” 

“ Oh, I’m not tired,” and Patty laughed gaily. 
“ And besides, Kit, it’s restful to dance with 
you.” 

“ Oh, pshaw, now,” and Kit pretended great 
embarrassment, “ you flatter me, Fair April 
Fool ! ” 

But Patty was in earnest, for of all her ac- 
quaintances, Kit Cameron was by far the best 
dancer in every respect. As she was moving 
toward the dance floor with him, Hedwig, the 
Swedish maid, appeared in the hall and beckoned 
to Patty. 

“ Wait here for me a minute, Kit, please,” she 
said and went over to where Hedwig stood. 
[ 73 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

The maid gave a gesture of silence, and slipped 
a folded paper into Patty’s hand. 

Wondering, Patty stepped into the library, and 
unfolded the note. She read: 

“ Please, Apple Blossom, just one minute. 
Down by the little orchard gate. Bill.” 

Patty’s eyes shone. She forgot that Kit was 
waiting, she forgot that it was nearly midnight, 
she thought only that she would have a chance 
to tell Little Billee that it wasn’t her fault she 
failed to keep the tryst that morning. 

A minute more, and she was hurrying through 
the rose-garden toward the little gate. 

Farnsworth stood there waiting. 

“ Apple Blossom ! ” he whispered, taking both 
her hands in his. 

“ Little Billee ! ” and Patty smiled at him. 
“ What are you doing here? Come back to the 
house.” 

“ No, I can’t, — I haven’t a minute. Or, 
rather, I have only fifteen of them. But I had 
to see you on your birthday. Patty, girl, so 
long as we both shall live, I’m always going to 
see you on your birthday ! No matter where I 
am, I shall come to you.” 

[ 74 ] 


An Apple Blossom Gift 

“Why?” and Patty looked at him wonder- 
ingly. 

“ Just a whim of mine, my Apple Blossom 
girl. And so it wasn’t your fault that you 
didn’t come here this morning?” 

“ No, but how did you know that? ” 

“ Peyton telephoned me. He’s a good old 
chap, and he knew how cut up I was at not see- 
ing you. So about six, he telephoned me in 
New York, and — here I am.” 

“Bill! Did you really come up from New 
York to see me? ” 

“ I sure did.” 

“ And your trip West? ” 

“ Is postponed a few hours, that’s all. I meant 
to take the midnight flyer, but I shall take an 
early morning one, instead. I came up for 
two things : one, to hear from your own dips 
that you really meant to meet me here this 
morning ” 

“ I did ! Honest, Billee, I did, but everything 
hindered me, and a long distance call from 
father kept me at the last minute until it was 
too late.” 

“ Then that’s all right. I hated to think you 
disappointedmeonpurpose. My other errand is 
this,” and Bill took from his pocket a little box. 
[ 75 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ A birthday gift ! ” and Patty looked up with 
sparkling eyes. 

“ Yes, I shall always give you a birthday gift 
and I shall always give it to you myself, unless 
it is absolutely impossible.” 

Opening the box, Patty found an exquisite 
pin, representing an apple blossom. It was of 
enamel and in the centre was a soft, lustrous 
pearl. The workmanship was so delicate and 
unusual, that it in no way resembled the ordi- 
nary enamelled jewelry, and Patty gave a little 
gasp of admiration. 

“ It’s the most beautiful thing I ever saw! ” 
she said. “ Thank you, Little Billee. But it’s 
too beautiful for me to accept. I know I 
oughtn’t to.” 

“ Don’t say that, dear. You promised we 
should be good, good friends, and surely a good 
friend may give you a birthday gift, without 
question. If you like it, that’s all I care about.” 

“ Like it! I love it; I think it is the most ex- 
quisite pin I ever saw. Put it on for me, Little 
Billee. Pin it right into that bow.” 

Patty indicated a green satin bow on the shoul- 
der of her “ Folly ” costume and Bill deftly put 
the pin in place there 

“ That looks lovely ! ” declared Patty, cran- 

[ 76 ] 


An Apple Blossom Gift 

ing her neck to see it. “ I shall wear it very 
often.” 

“And think of me?” 

“I’ll think of thee, when this I see! Yes, 
Little Billee, I will. But I oughtn’t to be 
out here with you! I’m sure of that! Please 
come up to the house.” 

“ No, I can’t; I haven’t time. I must go in five 
minutes. But it’s all right, dear; I knew it 
would take all the time for explanations if I 
went to the house, and I couldn’t get a moment 
alone with you. Tell me, little girl, may I 
write to you? ” 

“Oh, I’m an awful correspondent! I won’t 
promise to answer your letters.” 

“ Little coquette! You just say that to tease 
me!” 

Bill looked down at her, smiling. He was so 
tall and big that it made Patty seem tiny. The 
moonlight fell full on his strong, rugged face, 
and his deep blue eyes shone as he looked at the 
dainty little figure in the gay green and white 
garb. 

“ You’re a fairy,” he said, “ straight from 
fairyland! ” 

“No,” said Patty, “I’m an April Fool!” 

“ You’re a blessed little piece of foolishness, 

[ 77 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

and if I don’t fly away from you, you’ll bewitch 
me! ” 

“ Little Billee,” and Patty looked serious, 
“ Mr. Peyton told me I mustn’t flirt with you.” 

“The deuce he did! What business is it of 
his, Pd like to know?” 

“ Oh, he thinks you’re too good and big to be 
trifled with.” 

“ He does, does he? Well, Peyton is a good 
old boy, and means well, but he needn’t try to 
manage our affairs, Apple Blossom.” 

“Then I may flirt with you?” and Patty 
smiled roguishly at Big Bill. 

“ Bless your heart, you can’t! Don’t you sup- 
pose I know every thought of your dear, sweet, 
foolish little noddle? Flirting is only foolery, 
and you may fool me all you like, only remember 
it doesn't fool me! Your little coquetries are 
too innocent and simple to call flirting, and I 
here give you leave to practise them on me to 
your heart’s content.” 

“ And on anybody else? ” 

“Sure, on anybody else. You can’t help it, 
Patty, any more than you can help breathing. 
And your coquetries are just the natural con- 
sequence of your gay, sunny disposition and 
your merry love of fun. Scatter them broadcast 
[ 78 ] 


An Apple Blossom Gift 

all you like. They will never harm you nor any 
one else. You’re too sound and sweet at heart, 
ever to do or say a mean or a wrong thing.” 

“ Little Billee, you mustn’t praise me like that, 
it makes me — it makes me feel humble — or 
contrite — or whatever you call it!” 

Patty’s face, upturned in the soft moonlight, 
was very sweet and innocent, and Farnsworth 
read her like an open book. 

“ Patty, dear,” he said very gently, “ you are 
the sweetest thing in the world, and I — well, 
never mind, I won’t tell you now what I think 
of you, for I know you don’t think of me in that 
way. And I know, too, Pm not good enough 
for a dainty, exquisite nature like yours. So, 
Pm going to wait, and some day you will wake 
up and know your own heart, you will become a 
woman, all at once ; and then, if you could learn 
to care for me, it would ” — Farnsworth drew 
a long breath as he met her wondering gaze — 
“it would mean Heaven to me! But now, 
you’re a little butterfly girl, and I sha’n’t dis- 
turb you even with a hint of the way I love you. 
For, out of your sweet nature, you might 
imagine you cared when really you don’t.” 

“ How strangely you talk, Little Billee ! Pm 
not so terribly young; Pm twenty to-day.” 

[ 79 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Years don’t count, dear. You’re younger 
than some girls of seventeen. You’re so truly 
natural and unspoiled that you’re more like a 
child than a woman.” 

“Why, Mr. Peyton said I was spoiled! ” 

“ Confound Peyton! Oh, Patty, how can I go 
and leave you ! But I must, and I must go this 
minute! I haven’t a second to lose. Good- 
bye, little Apple Blossom! Good-bye.” 

“ Good-bye, Little Billee,” and Patty put her 
soft little hand in his big one. 

Reverently Farnsworth clasped it in both his 
own, and raising it to his lips, said huskily, 
“ Good-bye,” and strode away, without a back- 
ward glance. 

Patty stood, leaning against the gatepost, and 
watched the giant form of Farnsworth as he 
swung rapidly across the orchard. 

“ To think of his coming up from New York 
to see me for a minute! But he is so queer! I 
wonder if I do love him. He has some awfully 
nice traits, — but, he is queer! He’s splendid- 
looking, that’s certain, — he walks like a knight 
or a brigand or something! And his face, while 
not handsome, is so strong and, — well, noble , 
I guess, is the word for it! ” 


[Bo] 


CHAPTER VI 


THE BIRTHDAY PARTY 

“TT TELL! for the love of Mike, what 
Y/Y/ are you doing?” 

The amazed voice of Kit Cameron 
broke in on Patty’s meditations. 

She turned and smiled at him, a little absent- 
mindedly. 

“ Is it your habit to leave a dance partner, and 
come out here to moon by yourself? Who has 
been with you? ” 

“ The moon and I,” sang Patty, saucily, re- 
covering her poise quickly. 

“The moon and you, — nothing! Who else 
was here and where has he gone?” 

“ Where has who gone ? ” and Patty looked 
about, innocently. She had no intention of tell- 
ing Kit of Bill’s visit, for she knew how he 
would tease her. 

“ You don’t fool me, my lady k But I am mad 
at you for leaving me as you did, and I demand 
an explanation as my right.” 

[ 8 1 J 


Patty’s Romance 

“ And I refuse to give it, as my right.” 

“So be it. Your right goes! But will you 
come in now and grace your own birthday sup- 
per-table, or will you leave the cake to be cut by 
somebody else? ” 

“ I’ll come,” and Patty laughed, gaily. “ I’m 
starving! ” 

“ H’m ! Fine doings for a starving young 
woman ! Leaning over a gatepost, and baying 
the moon ! ” 

“ I didn’t bay the moon ! I wouldn’t know 
how! I’m playing Ophelia, — I’m mad.” 

“ Now, that’s a rational explanation. I al- 
ways thought you were a little mentally un- 
balanced, — now I see. It’s moon-madness. 
Are you often subject to it? ” 

“ Yes, whenever I feel sure you’ll come to 
hunt me up.” 

“Oh, I’ll always do that! I’m your slave, 
and I obey your lightest whim, even if you do 
make me mad enough to choke you ! ” 

“ Well, don’t choke me till after supper,” and 
Patty laughed as she ran up the steps of the 
veranda, where a crowd of young people 
awaited them. 

“Wherever have you been?” cried Daisy. 
“ Patty Fairfield, where have you been? ” 

[82] 


The Birthday Party 

“ Baying the moon,” returned Patty, solemnly, 
and then they all went to the dining-room. 

The birthday feast was all ready. As Queen 
of the fete, Patty was escorted to the seat of 
honour, and she had Mona and Daisy to sit 
either side of her, while their brave knights 
flew to get viands for them. 

“Here you are!” said Cameron, bringing 
Patty a plate full of good things. “ I knew, in 
your starving condition, you couldn’t wait for 
a waiter. So I foraged for this.” 

“ Thank you,” and Patty looked at the salad 
and croquettes with decided relish. Kit brought 
a footstool and sat at her feet while he ate his 
own supper. 

“ Where did you find her? ” asked Mona, who 
knew that Cameron had been looking for Patty. 

“ Resting,” returned Kit; “ the party was too 
much for her, and she had to go off by herself.” 

“Is that so? Are you tired, Patty?” and 
Phil Van Reypen looked greatly concerned. 

“ No,” said Patty, smiling. “ It was just one 
of my hallucinations. I went out to find the 
man in the moon.” 

“ Did you succeed? ” and Bob Peyton looked 
at her meaningly. 

“I did!” and Patty gave him a glance of 

[83] 


Patty’s Romance 

understanding. “ Then he had to go back to 
the moon, so I came in.” 

The crowning feature of the supper was, 
of course, the Birthday Cake. This was an 
enormous structure, with elaborate decorations 
of the caterer’s art, and surrounded by twenty 
lighted candles. 

Patty cut the cake, and true to the world-old 
tradition, announced that it contained emblems 
that would foretell events. 

There was great fun when it was learned that 
the thimble was in Phil Van Reypen’s slice. 

“ That proves that you’ll be an old bachelor,” 
said Patty, “ and a good thing, too; for you 
can devote all your money to charity, and that 
will be fine! Please give a lot to our Happy 
Saturday Club, it is a most worthy cause.” 

Daisy got the dime, which foretold that she 
would inherit money in due time. 

The ring was in Jim Kenerley’s piece, but by 
a little manoeuvring he managed to slip it to 
Patty’s plate, and she was hailed as the one who 
would be married first. 

“ I’ll willingly give it to any one who wants it,” 
Patty said, “ for I’m not going to get married 
for years yet. I’ll auction it off. What am I 
bid?” 


[84] 


The Birthday Party 

She held up the ring, gaily, and waited for 
bids. 

“ Do you go with it? ” asked Van Reypen. 

“ No, indeed! ” 

“ Then I won’t bid.” 

“ I’ll bid a dime,” said Mona, holding up the 
bright one she had found in her cake. 

“ Gone! ” said Patty, quickly; “ to Mona Gal- 
braith for ten cents!” 

“ Not fair! ” cried Peyton. “ You didn’t say 
‘ Going — going — gone ! ’ You’ll have to sell it 
over again.” 

“ Too late ! ” said Patty. “ It’s Mona’s now. 
We’ll all dance at her wedding.” 

“ Very well,” said Mona, laughing. “ But 
that is an uncertain date. Let’s dance some 
more now, while we have a chance.” 

So they all returned to the dancing-room, and 
Patty, much refreshed by her rest and her sup- 
per, was glad to dance some more. 

During a turn with Bob Peyton, he said curi- 
ously, “ Did old Farnsie come all the way up 
from New York to bring you that? ” and his 
glance rested on the pretty pin at Patty’s 
shoulder. 

“ Detective ! ” she exclaimed. “ Why do you 
deduce that ? ” 


[85] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Just ’cause he always calls you Apple Blos- 
som, and you didn’t have that pin before your 
mysterious disappearance.” 

“ But that doesn’t prove that he gave it to me.” 

“ No, it doesn’t; and that’s the reason I asked 
you.” 

“H’m! and what is the reason I should tell 
you?” 

“ There isn’t any.” 

“ That’s what I thought, and so, I’m not going 
to tell you.” 

“ You don’t have to. I know.” 

“ But you won’t tell? ” 

“No, of course not. But why not? ’Most 
any girl would be proud of a conquest like 
Bill Farnsworth.” 

“ I’m not ‘ proud of conquests.’ That’s not 
my style. I’m fond of my friends and often 
proud of them, but I don’t look on them as 
‘ conquests.’ ” 

“ Miss Fairfield, I want to apologise for what 
I said to you this afternoon. I’m convinced 
I’ve misunderstood you, and I had no right to 
speak to you as I did.” 

“That’s perfectly true, Mr. Peyton; you had 
no right to, but I forgive you because it brought 
about that little visit from Bill to-night. I don’t 
[ 86 ] 


The Birthday Party 

mind admitting to you that I was very glad to 
see him for a moment, and he was here but a 
moment; and I have you to thank for it.” 

“ Yes, I did telephone to the dear old chap, for 
I knew how cut up he was over the matter,, and 
though it was none of my business, I deliberately 
put my finger in the pie. But I didn’t think 
he’d come up here ! Why, he was to start West 
at midnight.” 

“ He’s going to-morrow morning, instead. It 
only made a few hours’ difference, he said.” 

“ Dear old Bill. I’m awfully fond of him, 
Miss Fairfield, and that must be my excuse for 
interfering so unpardonably.” 

“ Not unpardonably, for I’ve forgiven you. 
Now, if you please, I won’t finish this dance. 
Let’s go out on the veranda, this room is so 
warm.” 

“ Better yet, let’s go down to the new Tea 
House,” said Peyton, as they stepped out on 
the veranda. “ You know what you said about 
it this afternoon.” 

“What?” asked Patty, who rarely remem- 
bered her careless speeches. 

“ That it would be a good place to flirt.” 

“ Oh, so I did ! And you’re just the one to 
flirt with, for you gave me full permission.” 

[87] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ I did that! ” and Peyton laughed. “ I be- 
lieve I was bumptious enough to ask you not to 
flirt with Bill.” 

“Yes, Mr. Peyton, you did; and I won’t.” 
Patty raised her blue eyes solemnly to his, and 
gave no hint of smiling. 

“ I declare,” he cried, a I don’t know what to 
make of you ! Are you in earnest or not? ” 

“ Of course Pm in earnest. I promise you 
that I won’t flirt with Bill Farnsworth, because 
it’s of no use.” 

“No use; what do you mean?” 

“ Just what I say. If you can’t understand, I 
can’t help that. But never mind Mr. Farns- 
worth now. Oh, doesn’t it look lovely with the 
lanterns lighted?” 

The little Tea House was indeed pretty. The 
Japanese lanterns cast a soft glow, and the in- 
terior was dimly illumined by their light. The 
two stepped inside, and Peyton ensconced Patty 
on a wicker settee and deftly put cushions be- 
hind her back. 

“ What a clever person you are,” she said. 
“ You fixed those pillows just right. You’d be 
fine on an ocean voyage.” 

“As a deck steward?” 

“Well, yes, that was what I had in mind! 

[ 88 ] 


The Birthday Party 

Would you be as useful in any other capacity? ” 

“ Not as useful, perhaps, but very ornamental. 
And I could read to you and otherwise amuse 
you. When can we start?” 

“ Oh, I’ve been. I don’t care about going 
again, for several years yet.” 

“ Too bad ! My talents ought not to be 
wasted.” 

“ They needn’t be. You can ‘ otherwise 
amuse ’ me here and now.” 

“ So I can. Suppose I pay you compliments? ” 

“ Anything but that! I hate compliments.” 

“ Because you’re surfeited with them, of 
course. Then would it amuse you to be told 
some truths?” 

“ I don’t know.” Patty deliberated. u You 
know that sort of thing is terribly danger- 
ous.” 

“ The truth about you ought not to be dan- 
gerous.” 

“ Very well, take the risk, if you like.” 

“ The only risk is, you may be angry with 
me.” 

“ Probably. And it wouldn’t be the first 
time.” 

“ Nor the last, I hope. I adore people who 
get angry with me.” 

[89] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ All right, give me half a reason, and I’ll get 
mad as hops.” 

“ But I adore you anyway, so what’s the use 
of making you mad at me? ” 

“ Well,” and Patty considered, with her head 
on one side, “ you know there’s always the 
fun of making up.” 

“Yes, that’s so! We could kiss and be 
friends.” 

“ We could be friends, but I am not in the 
habit of kissing my men friends.” 

“ Good! I’m not either! ” 

“ Then we agree on that. Now, Mr. Peyton, 
I’m nicely rested and I think we’ll go back to 
the merry whirl.” 

“ Oh, not quite yet.” 

“ Yes, right away, now. I promised this next 
dance, and I’m sure it’s time for it.” 

“You bet it is! ” and Van Reypen appeared 
in the doorway. “ Sorry to interrupt this tete- 
a-tete, but this is our dance, Patty-girl.” 

“ So it is, Phil, but how about sitting it out 
here? ” 

“ Just as you like,” said Phil, dropping into a 
chair. “ Jolly little place, isn’t it? ” 

“ Oh, here you are! ” and Mona and Kit ap- 
peared. “ Well, we thought you were lost 
[ 90 ] 


The Birthday Party 

again ! I declare, Patty Fairfield, nobody would 
guess that this is your birthday party, you’re 
’most always somewhere else ! ” 

“ Pm going back in a minute,” said Patty, 
laughing, “ but it’s so pleasant here. Come in 
and see.” 

Kit and Mona did so, and two or three others 
drifted in, all agreeing that the little Tea 
House was ideally pretty and attractive be- 
tween dances. 

“ Come on, now,” said Patty at last, jumping 
up. “ I want to dance, Phil.” 

“ So you shall, my April’s Lady! ” 

“ Oh, what a pretty name! It makes me feel 
less of a fool.” 

“ It’s a name that just suits you. You’re like 
the essence of Spring. Like a sunny, showery 
day in April. Mostly sunny, though. You 
never cry, do you, April’s Lady? ” 

“ Not often. I never have anything to cry 
about. Everybody is so good to me.” 

“They’d better be! If ever anybody isn’t, 
just you tell me, and he’ll have short shrift! ” 
“ Oh, Phil, aren’t you grand! When you talk 
like that, you sound mediaeval, or whatever the 
time was when they fought duels and things.” 
“ Would you like me to fight a duel for you? ” 
[ 9i ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Mercy, no ! I’d be afraid you’d get 
killed.” 

“ Not I ! But I’d lay out the other fellow. 
Say, Patty, how’d you like to learn to fence? 
It would be good exercise and I know you’d like 
it.” 

“ Yes, I think I should. I love to see it, 
though I’ve not seen very much. On the stage 
once in a while, that’s all.” 

“ Well, when you go back to the city, see about 
some lessons, and I’ll come over and give you 
practice at odd times.” 

“ All right, I will. Father’d like to have me 
do something athletic, I know.” 

“ Now, here’s your chance for athletics. 
There’s a one-step playing, let’s go to it! ” 

Away they went, dancing and dipping in pretty 
rhythm, until Patty’s cheeks were pink with the 
exercise. 

“ You’ve neglected me,” said Hal Ferris, com- 
ing to Patty, as the dance finished. “ Give me 
the next, won’t you? ” 

u Yes, indeed; what is it? ” 

“ Whatever you like, there’s no regular pro- 
gramme.” 

“ All right, a hesitation waltz, then.” And the 
music played a rhythmic melody, as the two 
[92 ] 


The Birthday Party 

started off. Patty’s bells on her costume jingled 
a merry little accompaniment, and they laughed 
at it as they circled the room. 

A few more dances and the evening closed. 
The guests, with gay good-nights, went away, 
and Patty, tired but happy, declared she 
was going straight to bed to stay for a 
week. 

“ No kimono confabs to-night,” she said to 
Mona and Daisy, as they paused at the door of 
her room. 

“ All right,” said Mona, “ Pm sleepy too. See 
you in the morning. What time, Patty? ” 

“ Not before ten. Pm going to rest to-mor- 
row morning.” 

“ All right,” called out Daisy. “ But I can’t 
wait longer than ten. I’ll come in then, to talk 
over the affairs of the nation.” 

Left to herself, Patty undressed and went to 
bed. But she paused to look at the pin Farns- 
worth had given her. 

“ It is lovely,” she thought. “ I suppose I 
oughtn’t to accept so valuable a gift. But I 
don’t see how I could do otherwise, when he 
brought it to me.” 

Patty had removed the pin after Peyton no- 
ticed it, and hid it away for safe-keeping. She 
[ 93 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

didn’t want to explain that evening where it had 
come from, and she knew the girls would ex- 
claim as soon as they saw it. 

She put it away in her bureau drawer, and was 
soon deep in a dreamless sleep. 


[ 94 J 



She had exhausted herself already, trying to think 
of some way to signal that house 
















t 



































. 























CHAPTER VII 


WHERE IS PATTY? 

“TT7 AKE up, girls ! ” and Adele came into 
YY the room where Mona and Daisy 
occupied twin beds. “ It’s a lovely 
day, and we’re all going for a motor-ride.” 

“Patty up yet?” and Daisy stretched her 
arms above her head as she shook herself 
awake. 

“No; I think I’ll call her. I hate to wake 
her, but she can take a nap this afternoon, if 
she likes.” 

Adele went away and the two girls rose and 
began to dress. But in a moment Adele came 
back, laughing. 

“ Where is she? ” she said. “ I suppose you 
have her hidden under the bedclothes ! ” and 
she began to pull away the puffy down coverlet 
that was tossed over the footboard. 

“Where’s who?” asked Daisy, sticking her 
head in from the bathroom door. 

“ Patty,” said Adele. “ Oh, you can’t fool 

[ 95 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

me ! I know she must be in here, for she isn’t 
in her room nor in her bathroom.” 

“ Well, she isn’t here,” said Mona, “ and she 
hasn’t been here. I suppose she got up early 
and went for a walk or ride with some of the 
boys.” 

“ It’s queer,” went on Adele. “ For her 
clothes are all over her room, just as she took 
them off.” 

“ Well, of course, she wouldn’t put on her 
party clothes this morning! What’s the matter 
with you, Adele? ” 

“ I don’t know, Mona, but there’s something 
queer about it. It doesn’t look as if she had 
dressed there this morning. Her Folly cap is 
right in the middle of her dressing-table, and 
if she had done her hair there, she would 
have put the cap somewhere else. Then, 
her bathrobe is hanging in the wardrobe, 
not tossed aside in the bathroom, as if she had 
used it.” 

Mona looked at her hostess in amazement. 
“ My goodness, Adele ! Do you think Patty 
has eloped, or what? Of course, she dressed 
as usual. She hasn’t gone downstairs in her 
nightgown, like Wee Willie Winkie! She may 
not have used her bathrobe; and she may have 
[ 96 ] 


Where Is Patty? 

thrown her Folly cap where it is, as she left the 
room.” 

“ I know it sounds ridiculous,” and Adele 
frowned a little, “ but it is queer. I’ve been 
down to breakfast with Jim, and Patty wasn’t 
there. Of course, we didn’t expect her, she al- 
ways has her chocolate in her room. But I told 
Hedwig not to go up with it till after ten, 
and it’s only just ten now. Where is that 
child!” 

“ All the boys down to breakfast? ” 

“ Kit and Mr. Van Reypen were. Hal never 
comes down till all hours.” 

“ There you have it! ” and Mona wagged her 
head sagaciously. “ Those two have gone for 
a morning ramble; — dew on the grass, — birds 
twittering, — and all that sentimental rubbish! 
Needn’t tell me! I saw them talking secrets 
last night. Hal’s awfully gone on Patty.” 

“ Pshaw, I know that. Who isn’t? But Patty 
was awfully tired when she went to bed, and 
she said she wouldn’t get up till late.” 

“ That was a blind. She wanted to steal out 
early without leave or license.” 

“ But why? She can go walking with Hal 
whenever she likes. It isn’t forbidden.” 

“ Well, I’m sure I don’t know, Adele. Patty 

[ 97 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

may be under her bed or up the chimney, or any 
crazy place you like, but I was only trying to 
suggest some rational explanation of her dis- 
appearance, — if she has disappeared.” 

“What are you two talking about?” said 
Daisy, coming from the bathroom, her hair 
hanging about her shoulders, and her pink bath- 
robe drawn round her. 

“ Can’t find Patty,” said Mona. “ And Adele 
thinks she’s eloped.” 

“Who with?” and Daisy, careless alike of 
grammar and of an answer to her question, 
seated herself at the dressing-mirror to do her 
hair. 

But Adele had gone from the room. 

“ Nobody in particular,” said Mona, in reply 
to Daisy’s inquiring look. “ But Adele didn’t 
see Patty in her room, so she’s sure she’s gone 
for ever.” 

“Where is she?” Daisy was straightfor- 
ward. 

“ How do I know? Probably in the cupboard 
with her head in a bandbox; or maybe out on 
that balcony of hers, flirting with some of the 
boys down below. She’s often up to those 
tricks.” 

“ I know it. How the boys do admire her ! I 

[ 98 ] 


Where Is Patty? 

don’t wonder, either, — she’s the sweetest 
thing!” 

“ Yes, she is. I’m envious of her popularity, 
and I freely admit it, but I love her all the 
same. But where do you s’pose she is? She 
usually speaks to us as soon as she’s awake.” 

“ I know it. But she’s old enough to take 
care of herself, wherever she is. Hook this 
for me, will you, please? ” 

Mona hooked up Daisy’s frock, and they were 
just about ready to go downstairs, when Adele 
came again. Her face looked anxious, and she 
seemed annoyed, too. “ Jim only laughs at 
me,” she said, “ but where is Patty? No one 
has seen her, and the men are all down.” 

“ Perhaps she got up early and went some- 
where with Mr. Peyton,” suggested Mona, who 
clung to her idea of an early morning walk. 

“ Yes,” said Adele, her face lighting up. 
“ Maybe she did do that! Then they’ll both 
come back here for breakfast.” 

The three went downstairs, and found the 
men still at the table. 

“ Doesn’t seem like Patty,” said Jim, as 
Adele spoke of their newest supposition. “ She’s 
too much of a sleepy-head for that, — especially 
after a party.” 


[ 99 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Patty can be energetic when she wants to,”- 
said Phil Van Reypen. “ Why, I’ve known her 
to get up at four o’clock to see the sun rise, 
down at the seashore.” 

“ Yes, and she got up early here one morning 
last winter,” said Hal, “ to go skating with me.” 

“ So she did ! ” said Adele, remembering. 
“ Then she must have gone off on some wild- 
goose chase with Mr Peyton, — for I can’t think 
of any one else.” 

“ Unless Bill Farnsworth came back,” said 
Daisy, slowly. “ Do you know I caught a 
glimpse of a new pin on Patty’s shoulder last 
night, and then when I saw her again it wasn’t 
there.” 

“ What’s that got to do with it? ” asked Van 
Reypen, smiling. 

“ Why, nothing,” said Daisy, “ only you know 
Bill always calls her Apple Blossom, and it 
was an apple-blossom pin, — enamelled pink and 
white. And I thought maybe he gave it to 
her — * — ” 

“Well, what if he did!” and Van Reypen 
looked annoyed. “ That doesn’t prove she 
eloped with him, does it? ” 

He spoke so ferociously that Daisy looked 
scared; but she said, “ No, of course, she hasn’t 
[ ioo] 


Where Is Patty? 

eloped with anybody. Patty isn’t that sort. 
But she is on some sort of an escapade, — or if 
not, where is she? ” 

Then Jim had a brilliant idea of telephoning 
over to the Brewsters’, where Peyton lived 
with his sister. 

“ Why, yes,” said Mrs. Brewster, “ Bob is 
here. Want to speak to him ? ” 

“ Don’t tell him we’re alarmed,” warned 
Adele, quickly. “ Here, let me take it! ” 

She took the telephone from her husband, 
feeling sure her woman’s wit would better 
carry off the situation. 

u Good-morning, Bob,” she said, u what are 
you doing to-day? ” 

“ Nothing particular. I’m in the market for 
any bids to social functions or family reunions. 
How’s Miss Fairfield, after her birthday 
fete ? ” 

“ I haven’t seen her yet this morning,” an- 
swered Adele, guardedly; “ but I trust she’s all 
right.” 

“Ah, sleeping yet, is she? Well, it was a 
late affair. Give her my regards when she 
wakens, and may I come over some time to- 
day? ” 

“Yes, indeed; come whenever you like.” 

[ ioi 1 


Patty’s Romance 

Adele broke off, abruptly, and hung up the re- 
ceiver, unheeding what Peyton would think of 
her pointless message. 

“Now!” she said, looking at her husband; 
“ now, where is Patty? ” 

Jim Kenerley looked thoughtful. He couldn’t 
quite feel seriously alarmed, and yet, it seemed 
queer. 

“ Of course,” he began, “ she’s gone some- 
where ” 

“ Of course,” agreed Adele. 

“ I mean somewhere for a morning stroll. She 
must have done so, for there’s no other possible 
explanation of her absence. She couldn’t have 
been called home and gone without telling us. 
She couldn’t have been demented and wan- 
dered away in her sleep ; so she must have gone 
for a walk. Perhaps she couldn’t sleep because 
she was overtired, and thought a very early 
walk would freshen her up. And maybe she 
stopped at the Tea House and fell asleep 
there.” 

“ Jim ! you’re a genius ! ” exclaimed Adele. 
“ That’s just what she has done ! She said yes- 
terday, the Tea House would be a fine place to 
sleep on a summer night. Of course she’s 
there!” 


[ 102 ] 


Where Is Patty? 

They all trooped down to the Tea House. 
“ I’ll go in first,” said Adele, laughing. “ I 
don’t know how she’s dressed.” 

But in a moment Adele was back at the door- 
way. “ Come in,” she said, “ she isn’t here! ” 

They went in, looking sober. It had begun to 
look queer. 

“ Nonsense ! ” said Jim, as Daisy began to 
cry. “ Patty will come back soon, and laugh 
at us for being concerned about her absence. 
Perhaps she took the runabout.” 

But all the cars were in the garage, and the 
chauffeur said they had not been disturbed since 
he put them up. 

“ We’ll find her in the woods,” said Kit Cam- 
eron, cheerily. “ Come on, Daisy, we’ll go one 
way while Van Reypen and Mona go the other; 
and see who’ll find her first, asleep on a mossy 
bank like Titania, and catching a fearful cold 
in her head.” 

They strolled into the little grove, dignified 
by the name of wood, and Jim and Adele and 
Hal went back to the house. 

“ It’s all wrong! ” declared Hal. “ You may 
say what you like, Jim, but it’s all wrong. Here 
comes Peyton. We may as well tell him, — per- 
haps he can suggest something.” 

[ 103] 


Patty’s Romance 

But Bob Peyton could only look as blankly 
amazed as the others. 

“ I think I ought to tell you,” he said at last, 
u that Bill Farnsworth was here last night.” 

“ Here ! ” cried Adele ; “ what do you mean ? ” 

“ Yes; you know he’s great friends with Miss 
Fairfield, and he came just for a moment to give 
her birthday wishes or a gift or something. 
But he was here only a moment. Just between 
two trains. About midnight.” 

“ Well, of all things! ” and Adele looked per- 
plexed. 

“ But, of course, that has nothing to do with 
Miss Fairfield’s absence,” went on Peyton, “ for 
I know he went away on the 12:15 train, and 
there was a lot of party after that.” 

“Yes,” said Adele, “we here at the house 
didn’t get to bed till nearly three o’clock. I 
told Patty she should not stay up so late again, 
while she is here. She is not strong. But she 
said it was her birthday and we must call it an 
exception. Then the three girls went to bed, 
and I went in myself to tuck Patty up, but she 
was already sound asleep.” 

“ Is she a wakeful sort? ” asked Peyton. 

“ Not at all. She loves to sleep, especially 
after she has been up late.” 

[ 104] 


Where Is Patty? 

“ Still, there is no other explanation/’ insisted 
Jim. “ Patty must have gone out for a morn- 
ing walk, simply because that is the only thing 
she could have done ! She isn’t in the house, is 
she? She wouldn’t wander to the attics? ” 

“ No, she wouldn’t ! ” said Adele. “ Patty is 
not demented! And she doesn’t walk in her 
sleep. So, as Jim says, there is no solution but 
that she went out somewhere early this morn- 
ing.” 

“ Why early? ” asked Peyton. 

“ The maids come down at six,” said Mrs. 
Kenerley. “ And the gardener is often about 
even earlier than that, these summer mornings. 
He likes to work then, and spare himself in the 
heat of the day. If Patty had gone out after 
six, some of the servants would have seen her.” 

“ How did she get out? ” asked Peyton, sud- 
denly. 

No one answered, and Jim called the parlour- 
maid. 

“ No, sir,” she said, in response to questions. 
“ The front door was locked on the inside when 
I came down, as it always is.” 

“And the side door?” 

“ Yes, sir, that one, too. I unlocked them 
both.” 


[ 105 1 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Any windows open? ” 

“ No, Mr. Kenerley. Everything was in order 
as usual.” 

“ I looked over the windows myself, last 
night,” said Jim. v I remember I thought 
that as it was so near morning there was little 
danger of intruders, — still I saw that they were 
all locked. How in the world did the child 
get out? ” 

“ By a balcony window? ” suggested Hal. 

“ Ridiculous ! ” said Adele. “Why should 
Patty scramble out of a balcony window? ” 

“ But there is a balcony to her room,” ob- 
served Jim; u it’s low, too, because the house is 
on rising ground, right there; she could have 
climbed down the pillar.” 

“She could have flown up the chimney!” 
scoffed Adele. “ But she didn’t! ” 

“ Then, where is she? ” demanded Hal. 

“ I don’t know,” said Adele, soberly, “ and I 
don’t deny that I am alarmed, for I think there 
is more to this thing than the rest of you sus- 
pect.” 

“What do you mean, sister?” said Hal. 
“ Speak out.” 

“ I think some one has carried Patty off ! ” 

“ Rubbish ! ” cried her brother. “ Nobody 

[ 106] 


Where Is Patty? 

could do that without the rest of us hearing. 
Burglars, do you mean? ” 

“I don’t know,” and Adele looked ready to 
cry; “ but I can tell from the looks of her room 
that she never dressed there this morning. 
Daisy and Mona laughed at me when I said 
that, but I can tell.” 

“What do you mean, exactly?” and Hal 
looked serious. 

“ Well, everything looked as if she had un- 
dressed and got ready for bed, but nothing 
looked as if she had dressed, either hastily or 
leisurely.” 

“ Show me ! ” exclaimed Hal. “ Come, 
Adele, you may be right.” 

The brother and sister went up to Patty’s 
room. 

“ See,” said Adele, “ here’s her bathrobe in 
the wardrobe ; she would have used it and left 
it in the bathroom, ordinarily. You know, Hal, 
this is my best guest-room, and has its own bath. 
Then, the bathtub has not been used this morn- 
ing, apparently. To be sure Patty might have 
omitted her tub-bath, but she never does.” 

“ Go on, Adele,” said Hal, with bent brows. 
“What else?” 

“ Well, see the dressing-table. Here are hair- 
[ 107 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

pins thrown about; Patty is a little careless, 
though not really untidy. Now, if she dressed 
this morning, why didn’t she use these hairpins? 
They’re ordinary ones, such as she uses every 
day. These jewelled ones she had on for the 
party, but all these others she would naturally 
use in the morning.” 

“ Are those jewelled ones valuable? ” 

“ No, just rhinestones. Now then,” and 
Adele looked aghast, “ where is her night- 
dress? ” 

Hal was startled. “ Do you mean to say that 
it isn’t here? That she has wandered away in 
her night-clothes? Oh, .Adele, then she must be 
a victim of dementia of some sort! Are you 
sure? ” 

“Yes, Pm sure! The bed-covers are tossed 
back, here are her dressing-gown and slip- 
pers, — there is nothing missing of her day- 
clothes. She must have gone away in her little, 
thin nightgown! Oh, Hal, what does it all 
mean? ” 

Adele fell into a chair, and Hal sat on the 
couch to think a minute. 

“ There is no other theory,” he said, at last. 
“ She must have gone out of this room, either 
asleep or under some temporary mental aberra- 
[ 108] 


Where Is Patty? 

tion, and wandered downstairs and out of some 
door or window, that Jim neglected to fasten. 
She went into the wood, probably, and we will 

find her there, asleep or, — or ” 

“ Don’t, Hal ! ” and Adele broke down and 
cried like a child. 


[ 109 ] 


CHAPTER VIII 


STOLEN ! 

T HE others returned from their search 
in the wood with white faces. They 
had seen no trace of Patty, and had be- 
gun to fear that there was reason for alarm. 

“But there can’t be anything wrong!” de- 
clared Phil, for the hundredth time. “ There 
just can’t! ” 

“ Come up here,” called Hal, from the upper 
hall. And they all went up, and they all went 
into Patty’s room, the pretty guest-room, and 
stood looking on, while Adele and Hal pointed 
out that it was quite evident that Patty had not 
dressed there that morning. Mona burst into 
tears, and sobbed, “ Don’t talk about ‘ evi- 
dence ’ ! It sounds so awful! ” 

Van Reypen stood in the doorway. He 
couldn’t go into Patty’s room as casually as the 
rest did, and yet, this was no time to think of 
conventions. 

Jim Kenerley looked carefully about. “ Look 
[ no] 


Stolen! 

in the wardrobe, girls,” he said. “ See what 
gown is missing.” 

Adele and Daisy did so. 

“Here’s her pink linen,” they said; “and 
here’s her blue voile. And her sand crash, — 

and her white duck, ” and so on, until they 

were forced to realise that no frock was gone 
from the wardrobe at all. 

“She’s hiding!” said Kit. “She must be! 
If she is in her nightdress, she simply can t have 
left the house ! It’s a practical joke. She 
is always trying to play one on me, — and she 
has hidden to fool us.” 

“ I wish I could think so,” began Adele, when 
Daisy cried out: 

“ Oh, the puff is gone ! ” 

“ So it is ! ” exclaimed Adele. “ The pink 
satin puff, the down quilt, you know. Where 
can it be? ” 

“ I told you so,” said Kit, triumphantly. 
“ She is hiding in the attic or somewhere, and 
she wrapped the quilt thing about her.” 

“ It may be,” said Jim, “ but it seems absurd. 
If she meant to hide, as a joke, she would have 
dressed first. Patty wouldn’t go scooting 
around the house like that.” 

“ Of course she wouldn’t,” agreed Adele. 
[in] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ But it’s queerer than ever, to think of her 
going anywhere wrapped up in a quilt.” 

“ Anyway,” persisted Kit, “ she couldn’t go 
out of the house that way. So she must be in 
some room.” 

At the first mention of the attic, Hal and 
Mona had hurried to look there. They now re- 
turned, from an unsuccessful quest. 

“ No,” said Hal, “ she isn’t in the attic, any- 
where. She can’t be in the house. There’s no 
room where she could be.” 

“Or closet?” asked Bob Peyton, who stood 
by, looking as anxiously concerned as the 
others. 

“ Come on, Hal,” and he and Mona went away 
again. 

Adele and Daisy moved about the room, see- 
ing every moment fresh evidence that Patty had 
not dressed there. Her shoes were all in place, 
her hats all there, too, and no dress, not even 
a tea-gown or negligee, was missing. 

“ But are you sure? ” asked Jim. “ You may 
have forgotten one of her frocks.” 

“ No,” said Daisy, “ I know them all, as well 
as I do my own. Either Patty Fairfield is in her 
nightgown or she has on somebody else’s 
clothes.” 


[ 112 ] 


Stolen! 

Ah, if they had known how true that was ! 

“She is not in this house!” said Hal, em- 
phatically, as he and Mona returned from their 
second search. “ We’ve been everywhere and 
she simply is not in the house.” 

Van Reypen, still standing just inside the door, 
had said little. Now, he crossed the room with 
a slow step, and leaned his head down to the 
pillow on the bed. The covers were tossed 
aside, and the pillow still seemed to bear the 
imprint of Patty’s pretty head. 

Van Reypen straightened up again, and 
turned to them. His face was white, and his 
voice was a little unsteady, as he said: 

“ There is a faint but distinct odour of chloro- 
form on that pillow. Patty has been — stolen ! ” 

Jim flew over and sniffed at the pillow. 

“You are right!” he said. “No, don’t all 
come,” he added, as the others crowded round. 
“ It is very faint, and there’s no use destroying 
it. It may be a clue to her disappearance.” 

Van Reypen stood, with folded arms, but his 
eyes darted alertly here and there round the 
room. 

“ Did she lock her door at night? ” he asked. 

“ No,” said Adele. “ She always closed it, 
but it was never locked.” 

[ ”3 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

Philip went to the bathroom and looked in. 
He noted the high, small-paned window, and 
then he returned to the bedroom. He went 
straight to the long window that opened like 
doors on the balcony. 

When he turned again, they were all fright- 
ened at his ghastly face. 

“ It is perfectly clear,” he said, in a low voice. 
“ Some one came up on that balcony, entered 
the room, chloroformed Patty, and carried her 
away.” 

“ Bill — ♦ — ” breathed Daisy, with wide eyes. 

“ No ! ” and Phil’s voice rang out like a trum- 
pet. “ It was not Farnsworth! He would not 
do such a thing! Patty has been kidnapped! ” 

Adele tottered where she stood, and almost 
fainted as Jim caught her in his arms. 

“ See,” went on Van Reypen, in a low, tense 
tone, “ there are mud marks on the balcony. 
Not definite footprints, — but marks of feet. I 
am positive some one came, when Patty was 
soundly asleep, and ” 

“ Oh, don’t ! ” cried Adele. 44 1 can’t bear it ! ” 

Already Hal had sprung over the balcony 
railing and was examining the pillars and the 
porch below. 

44 There are fresh marks and scratches,” he 

[ 114 ] 


Stolen! 


said, returning. “ It looks as if a ladder had 
been put up there recently. But I can’t think 
it!” 

“ It must be so,” went on Phil, more as if 
thinking aloud than addressing the others. 
“ How else account for the chloroform odour? 
Or the missing quilt?” 

“ Oh,” cried Daisy, “ do you mean that they 
carried her away, wrapped in the down puff? ” 

“ It looks so.” And then Van Reypen ran 
downstairs and out to the lawn beneath Patty’s 
windows. The others followed. There was 
more evidence to support Van Reypen’s theory. 
The ground was trodden as if by a heavy per- 
son, and there were distinct marks of a ladder 
which had leaned against the pillar. 

“ It would be a very easy matter,” said Phil, 
u for a nimble man to climb up there, and with 
a few whiffs of a chloroformed handkerchief 
render Patty unconscious, and then wrap her in 
the down quilt and carry her away.” 

His own graphic description was too much for 
him, and Van Reypen turned away as he choked 
back an involuntary sob. 

The girls were crying, and Hal was openly 
dabbing at his eyes. 

“What can we do?” spoke up Bob Peyton, 

[ii5] 


Patty’s Romance 

eager to be of use. “ I think no time should be 
lost. If this is the true solution of Miss Fair- 
field’s disappearance, we must trace the men at 
once.” 

“ They came in an automobile,” said Philip, 
who had been out to the road and back. 

“ Oh, let’s find some other explanation ! ” cried 
Kit, in an agonised way. “ It can’t be our 
Patty is kidnapped! ” 

“ I wish we could find something else to think,” 
said Jim, very soberly, “ but it seems to me 
Van Reypen must be right. There is no other 
solution.” 

“ What shall we say to her father ! ” wailed 
Adele. “ We are responsible for her, you 
know.” 

“ Ought we to tell them at once? ” said Phil, 
looking at Jim Kenerley. 

“ Oh, I don’t know! I don’t know! It’s all 
so horrible. What do you think? ” 

Van Reypen considered. For some unaccount- 
able reason, they all seemed to turn to him for 
advice. His regard for Patty was well known, 
but it was not because of that alone that they 
looked to him for help. Van Reypen was a 
born commander, a capable reasoner, and a 
leader. Every one present felt that he could 
[ n6 ] 


Stolen! 

find Patty, if any one could; or at least, that he 
would know best what ought to be done. 

“ It’s this way,” he said at last. “ I should 
hate to telephone the Fairfields what has hap- 
pened. And yet, have we a right to keep from 
them so serious a matter? For I am sure that 
it is serious. We cannot think now, that there 
is any casual reason for Patty’s disappearance. 
I think we must feel sure that she has been 
carried away, — unwillingly, — probably uncon- 
sciously, — I can’t go on ” 

“ I’ll go on,” and Kit bravely took up the sad 
subject. “ It seems as if Patty must have been 
carried off, but if by a miracle there is any other 
explanation, we must still go to work to find her. 
We, — I hate to suggest it, — but, oughtn’t we 
to tell the — the police?” 

The girls cried afresh at this thought, but Van 
Reypen spoke up quickly: “ Not yet, Cameron. 
I mean, it might be wiser to try to trace the 
kidnappers ourselves; and, too, I don’t think 
we would have a right to notify the police be- 
fore we tell Mr. Fairfield. If there were only 
a chance that this thing might not be true, — 
but I, for one, can’t see any such possible 
chance.” 

“ Nor I,” and Jim spoke heavily. “ That’s 
[ ii7 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

why I think we ought to tell the Fairfields now.” 

“ But it’s so awful to do it by telephone,” and 
Van Reypen looked distressed at the thought. 
“ I’ll go to New York myself, and tell them as 
soon as I get there.” 

“ There’s no use in their coming up here, I 
suppose,” said Daisy. “ Whatever is to be 
done, could be done better in New York, 
couldn’t it? ” 

“ What is to be done? ” said Adele, raising her 
white, haggard face from her husband’s shoul- 
der. “ Can’t we do something f It’s awful just 
to sit here with our hands folded! ” 

“ I think so, too,” said Kit. “ Let’s take a 
-car and chase them.” 

Van Reypen smiled, sadly. “ Which way 
would you go?” he said. “And you must 
realise it would be useless. We are only as- 
suming the automobile, anyway. The road is 
full of tracks, and while it is probable the men 
had one,, it is by no means sure, nor have we any 
way of even surmising which way they went.” 

“ If they didn’t have a car,” began Daisy, 
“ what would they have done? ” 

“ Carried her away,” returned Phil. “ She’s 
so light, you know. But they couldn’t have 
gone along the highroad, — even at night, — 

[n8] 


Stolen! 


carrying a girl wrapped up like that. They 
must have had a car. The whole effect of the 
thing is premeditated and carefully executed. 
Also, they took away the ladder, or hid it some- 
where in the woods.” 

“ Oh, how can I face her father and mother! ” 
cried Adele, giving way to violent weeping. 

“ Now, don’t talk like that, Mrs. Kenerley,” 
said Phil, kindly; “don’t you think, for a minute, 
that you are in any way responsible in the mat- 
ter. In all probability "this thing has been 
planned for a long time. I’m sure the idea is 
to get large ransom money; and, incidentally, 
I don’t believe Patty will be harmed, or even ill- 
treated — — ” Again Van Reypen couldn’t go 
on. He could plan and reason, but the moment 
he began to speak of Patty herself, in the 
clutches of unknown villains, his heart seemed 
to break within him, and he could not control 
his speech. 

Again, Kit helped him out. “ I’ll go to New 
York and tell the Fairfields,” he said. “ Van 
Reypen will be of more use up here; I don’t 
know just how, but I feel sure he ought to stay 
here, in case anything turns up.” 

“ If it is a kidnapping,” said Jim, “ they will 
apply to Mr. Fairfield for money. He ought to 

[ 119] 


Patty’s Romance 

know before he gets any such message. I can’t 
tell him ” 

“ You needn’t, Mr. Kenerley,” said Kit. 44 I’ll 
tell them. I’ll go down on the noon train, it’s 
almost train-time now, and you people up here 
do whatever you think best in every way. I 
confess, I don’t know what to do.” 

44 I’ll go down with you, Cameron,” said Phil. 
44 On second thoughts, I’m not sure but it would 
be better to let the police in as soon as we can. 
That is, if Mr. Fairfield thinks so. And there is 
absolutely nothing to be done up here. If you 
people want to, I suggest you take the cars and 
go out and scour the country. But, honestly, I 
can’t see how it could do any good. These 
criminals are doubtless professionals, and they 
have not only covered their tracks, but in all 
likelihood laid decoy clues or false hints to 
be followed up.” 

44 Oh, do let’s go out in the cars,” said Daisy. 
44 Why, maybe they had a blow-out, and couldn’t 
go where they intended to.” 

44 That is a possibility,” said Phil; 44 though, 
I’m afraid, a slim one. But go, anyway! it’s 
better than doing nothing. Come on, Cameron, 
if we’re going to catch that train.” 

When they reached New York, the two men 

, [ I2 °] 


Stolen! 


went together to Mr. Fairfield’s office. They 
thought it wiser and kinder to tell him alone, 
and let him inform his wife later. 

Though Fred Fairfield said little, his tensely 
drawn mouth and grief-stricken eyes told how 
deeply the news affected him. 

For a moment he buried his face in his hands, 
and then, looking up, said, “ There is men’s 
work to be done. I thank you two for your 
offers of help and I accept them. Now we 
must confer. What do you suggest? Police, or 
a private detective, or both?” 

After some deliberation, they decided to tell 
the police, and in response to their telephone 
call an officer was sent from headquarters, ac- 
companied by a police detective. 

These representatives of the law were not 
optimistic. After hearing the brief story of the 
case, the detective said, “ You’re right, sir, in 
thinking they’d cover their tracks. It’ll not be 
easy to trace them. The only thing to do, is to 
wait for a message from them. It’s sure to 
come, for of course it’s ransom money they’re 
after. Are you prepared to pay, Mr. Fair- 
field?” 

“ Of course,” was the prompt answer. “ I 
would give my whole fortune to get my daugh- 
[ 121 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

ter back; but, naturally, I want to catch the 
rogues and see them behind bars ! ” 

“ Of course they must be caught! ” said Phil. 
“ But not at the cost of Patty’s safety, or even 
comfort. I’d rather pay their demand, and 
never see them, than to have a hair of her 
golden head harmed! ” 

“ It’s a bad case,” said the policeman. “ I 
don’t like it. They did it too slick! They’re 
cool, clever hands we have to deal with, and 
they mean to lead us a chase ! ” 

“We’ll match them! ” said Van Reypen, his 
eyes blazing. “ Let me get a hint of their 
whereabouts and I’ll engage to track them 
down ! ” 

“ But that’s just it, sir. They’re not going to 
let you get the hint of their hiding-place. We 
must try to ferret it out, but I’m thinking it’ll 
be no easy job, sir.” 

The officers went away; after a further talk, 
Kit Cameron went home; but Van Reypen re- 
mained a moment. 

“ Mr. Fairfield,” he said, “ I want to tell you 
that I have more than a friendly interest in 
Patty. I have loved her for a long time — ever 
since I’ve known her, in fact. I have told her 
so, but she evaded the issue, and there is no 
[ 122 ] 


Stolen! 


promise between us. But I hope some time to 
win her for my wife. I tell you this, because it 
is your due, as her father, to know it, and also 
because I want you to understand how deeply 
I am concerned in this matter of her disap- 
pearance. I felt sure, the moment I saw her 
room, that something of this sort had hap- 
pened. And now, we must work, not waste 
time in grieving. I think I shall accomplish 
something, if only because of my determina- 
tion to do so. And, — pardon this, sir, — but I 
must tell you that my fortune is at your dis- 
posal. Because of my love for Patty, I feel 
I have the right to offer you money, — if you 
need it, — to use in this effort that means so 
much to both you and me. You are her 

father, — I — I love her ” 

“ Thank you, Philip,” and the two men’s 
hands met in a strong and understanding clasp. 
“ I think it will not be necessary, — I have a sum 
laid by, — but if it is, I shall willingly and gladly 
accept your offer as freely as it is made, — for 
Patty’s sake.” 


[ 123 ] 


CHAPTER IX 


CORA 

W HEN Patty went to bed, on the night 
of her birthday, she was so weary that 
she fell immediately into deep, dream- 
less slumber. The moon had sunk below the 
western horizon and the night was dark, with 
fitful clouds sweeping now and then across the 
sky. It was warm, so warm that Patty had 
left her long French window open, and the 
breeze came in gently as she slept. 

Everybody slept soundly that night. The serv- 
ants were tired with the extra exertions of the 
day, and the family and guests of the household 
were no less exhausted by their pleasures. The 
Birthday celebration had been a big success, 
and now that it was over, all concerned were 
glad of a peaceful rest. 

The little clock on Patty’s dressing-table had 
chimed three, in the darkness, but its light ring 
did not awake the wearied girl. 

A few moments later a motor-car came silently 

[124] 


Cora 

along the road that ran past the Kenerleys’ 
home. It was a large, high-powered car, a 
limousine, and there were two men in front and 
a woman inside. 

The car stopped at a short distance from the 
entrance to the Kenerleys’ place and one man 
got down from his seat. A whispered word or 
two to the other man, and a glance inside the 
limousine at the woman there, and the man 
walked slowly toward the house. He moved 
cautiously, even stealthily, and looked alertly 
about him at every step. But he went steadily 
on, until he came to a small side veranda, which 
had a balcony above it, surrounded by a low 
railing. As the house was built on the slope of 
a hill, the balcony was not high, and the man 
set up against it a ladder. He had brought the 
ladder with him, a curious one, which was tele- 
scoped in a clever way, until it was only about a 
third of its full length. Deliberately the man 
adjusted the extension ladder and set it up 
against the pillar of the veranda. He shook 
it a little as if to assure himself of its stability, 
and then carefully ascended it, looking about 
him as he climbed. Reaching the top, he stood 
on the little balcony and slowly and very quietly 
drew near the long, open window and looked in. 

[ 125] 


Patty’s Romance 

He saw a girl asleep, whose tangled golden 
curls seemed like a halo around her pretty, 
flushed face. Her soft, regular breathing as- 
sured him of her deep slumber, and he stepped 
silently inside the room. 

Then his movements, though still soundless, 
became swift and dextrous. He took from his 
pocket a small bottle and a handkerchief. He 
saturated the handkerchief and held it to the 
girl’s face. 

As Patty gave a deep sigh of unconsciousness, 
the man deftly rolled her in the pink satin 
quilt, and taking her in his arms like a child, he 
went quickly down the ladder. 

Then swiftly to the waiting motor-car. The 
door was open and he placed Patty on the seat 
beside the woman, in the limousine. There was 
no word spoken. Then he went back to the 
house for the ladder. He telescoped it back 
to a short length, and hurrying again to the 
car, took his seat inside with the woman and 
the sleeping girl. The car started and went 
softly and swiftly away, through the darkness 
that is just before the dawn. 

It was broad daylight when Patty opened her 
eyes. She yawned, and looked indolently at 
[126] 


Cora 


the pink satin that was up against her cheek. 

She pushed it aside, a little impatiently, for 
Patty never liked the bedclothing to bother 
her. As she moved it, she gave a surprised 
glance about her. She was in strange sur- 
roundings. She saw a whitewashed ceiling and 
an unfamiliar wallpaper. 

Curious, rather than scared, she sat up in bed 
and looked around. It didn’t occur to her that 
she was asleep and dreaming. She knew she 
was not asleep. She laid her hand wonder- 
ingly on the pink satin puff, and she looked at 
her own dainty nightdress, but everything else 
in sight was of a different type. The furniture 
of the room was an ordinary, painted set, 
instead of the brass bed and glass-topped 
mahogany of Adele’s best guest-room. 
There were some pictures on the wall, highly 
coloured landscapes and old steel engrav- 
ings. 

“ My goodness gracious! ” remarked Patty to 
herself; “ what does it mean? ” 

A practical joke, was the first solution that 
offered itself, and Patty tried hard to make 
that seem plausible. But it couldn’t be pos- 
sible that anybody had transported her to this 
place in a spirit of fun, and yet, neither could 
[127] 


Patty’s Romance 

it be possible that she had been wafted here by 
magic. 

She sprang out of bed and looked around. 
There was but one door, and when she turned 
the knob, she found the door was locked. 
Locked! From the outside! She was a 
prisoner! 

There were two windows. The shades were 
down, and Patty raised one and looked out. 

The scene she saw was entirely unfamiliar. 
There was one house in sight, at some distance 
away, but save for that, she saw only fields and 
trees, and some straggling woods. 

She put her head further out the window, and 
looked down at the house she was in. She dis- 
covered that she was in a third-story room; 
and that on the side of the house she saw there 
w T ere no doors, but the usual arrangement of 
windows, in each story. These windows all 
had closed blinds, and the whole house had a 
deserted look, so far as she could see. 

She watched some time for signs of life, but 
saw none. Then, for the first time, she began 
to feel alarmed. What could have happened 
to her? No answer to that question suggested 
itself to her perplexed mind. 

Walking about the room, in her bare feet, she 
[ 128] 


Cora 


looked in the bureau drawers, to find them all 
empty. She opened a small wardrobe, that 
was empty too. Where were her clothes? She 
gazed again at the pink puff and at her pretty 
nightgown. Those were absolutely the only 
things in the room she had ever seen before! 
The situation was indeed puzzling. It was 
alarming, too, but somehow that phase of it 
hadn’t oppressed Patty as yet. She looked at 
herself in the small and not very clear mirror 
that was on the bureau. 

“Well!” she said to her own reflection; 
“ would you kindly tell me what you’re up to ? ” 
But the pink and white face, with its frame 
of tangled gold curls, had no reply to 
make. 

Again she tried the door. It was certainly 
locked. She peeped in the keyhole and saw 
the key was in the other side. 

Seeing nothing else to do, she went back to 
bed. The sheets were coarse but clean, and 
the pink satin puff looked strangely out of place. 
Moreover it was too warm for comfort, and at 
Adele’s had usually spent the night hanging over 
the footboard, on the chance of a sudden drop 
in temperature. 

Patty endeavoured to go through the per- 

1 129 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

formance of what she sometimes called “ clear- 
ing up her mind.” 

But this was as far as she could get: “ I went 
to sleep in Adele’s house. I have waked up in 
a strange house that I never saw before. I am 
locked in a room.” 

At this clear and concise statement of facts, 
Patty began to feel frightened. She knew, in 
some undeniable way, that it was not a joke. 
She knew it was not a dream. Therefore, there 
was something wrong. 

She didn’t cry, she felt not the slightest indica- 
tion of tears, but she lay there, trembling; her 
feet grew cold, her hands clenched themselves, 
and her heart seemed to come up in her throat 
and choke her. She stared at the ceiling, and 
then she shut her eyes tight. But when she re- 
opened them, the same strange white ceiling was 
there, and not the dainty soft pink tint of her 
room at Adele’s. 

A convulsion of fear shook her like a chill. 
And then, her mood changed, her innate cour- 
age came to her aid, and she sat up in bed and 
shook her fist at the locked door. 

“ I know something awful has happened,” she 
murmured to herself. “ I don’t know yet what 
it is, but I’m going to be brave! I’ll wait a 

[ 130] 


Cora 


while, and then if somebody doesn’t open that 
door, I shall scream out of the window ! ” 

An underlying sense of the deserted aspect of 
the house as she had seen it from the window 
made her shiver again. It is not pleasant to 
think of being locked up in an otherwise empty 
house. 

“ But I don’t believe it is empty,” and Patty 
wagged her head by way of reassuring herself 
on that point. And then she sat straight up 
again, for she heard a step outside the door. 

The key turned in the lock, and then the door 
opened. 

A woman entered, and closed the door behind 
her. She came over to the bedside and looked 
at Patty and Patty looked at her. 

For a moment they spoke no word. The 
woman was carelessly but not poorly dressed. 
She was perhaps about thirty or so, and had 
she been less untidy might have been fairly 
good-looking. But her face was hard and she 
showed no kindness or even courtesy in look or 
manner. 

“ Do you want to get up? ” she asked, in an 
indifferent way. 

Patty’s wrath exploded at this. “ Do I want 
to get up! ” she repeated. “ Yes, I do want to 
[ 13 1 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

get up! But first, where am I? and what am I 
doing here?” 

“ There’s no need your getting sassy,” said the 
woman, dully. “ It won’t do a mite o’ good.” 

“ I’m not saucy. I surely have a right to ask 
where I am!” 

“ Where you’re likely to stay for some time.” 

“ What do you mean by that? ” 

Patty was a little uncertain what tone to take, 
but she quickly decided that anger would not 
help her any. 

Getting no reply to her question, she said, more 
quietly, “ Won’t you please tell me why I’m 
here, instead of in my own surroundings? ” 

“ I ain’t allowed to tell you anything,” said 
the woman, looking at her, Patty thought, a 
little less coldly. “ But you are here, and as I 
said, you’re likely to stay awhile. Now, don’t 
ask no questions and you won’t get no lies. If 
you’re ready to get up, I’ll bring you some 
clothes.” 

“ My own? ” asked Patty, curiously. 

“ No; not your own. Now, shut up on your 
questions. You seem to be broad awake, I 
s’pose you might as well dress.” 

“ I’m certainly broad awake, and I don’t want 
to sleep any more now.” 

[ 132 ] 


Cora 


“ All right,” and the woman went out of the 
room, locking the door after her. 

In a short time she returned, bringing an arm- 
ful of clothes. 

“ There,” she said, “ put those on, and I’ll 
bring you some breakfast.” 

Again she went away, locking the door, and 
Patty looked over the clothes. There was a 
full outfit, the underclothing plain and cheap but 
clean, and the shoes coarse but fairly decent. 
There was no dress, only a calico wrapper of 
hideous pattern. It was new, evidently never 
worn, and Patty surveyed the collection with 
dismay. But she preferred to face whatever 
awaited her, in some sort of costume, so she 
began to put on the unattractive clothes. A 
decent-looking washstand held a basin and 
pitcher of heavy crockery, but the water seemed 
fresh, and Patty ignored the soap. She also 
managed without a hairbrush, and, combing her 
long hair with her fingers, did it in one thick 
braid, and let it hang down her back. Then she 
put on the wrapper, with a wry face at its ugli- 
ness. It fitted well enough, and she had just 
buttoned it when the woman returned. 

This time she carried a tray, with some break- 
fast. The muddy-looking coffee and fried egg 
[ 133 1 


Patty’s Romance 

did not look appetising, but Patty was afraid 
to show her dislike of them, and managed to 
eat a little. 

“ Do tell me what I’m here for,” she said to 
the woman, in her most wheedlesome way. 

The pretty face was plaintive and the woman 
hesitated, as if loath to speak sharply again. 
But, with a determined air, she shrugged her 
shoulders, and said, “ Didn’t I tell you not to 
ask questions? ” 

“ Oh, let me ask questions,” and Patty spoke 
gaily, obeying a queer instinctive feeling that 
this was the best plan to pursue. “ At any rate, 
tell me your name, won’t you? ” 

“ You can call me Cora,” the woman an- 
swered. “ And now, if you’ll finish eatin’, I’ll 
take the tray away. Then I’ll come back and 
tidy your room.” 

“ I have finished. I haven’t much appetite, 
you know, because it’s all so strange.” 

“ You’ll have time to get used to it, maybe.” 

Left alone again, Patty tried to reason it out. 
The only possible solution that came to her was, 
practically, the true one. When Cora returned 
she said, “ Now, look here, I shall ask ques- 
tions, whether you like it or not. Was I kid- 
napped and brought here unconscious? ” 

[ 134 ] 


Cora 

Cora looked at her in surprise. “Yes,” she 
said, “ you was.” 

“ And am I to be held here for ransom? ” 

“ You can ask questions if you choose, but you 
can’t make me answer ’em. So you may as well 
stop.” 

“ I won’t stop! ” and Patty’s eyes blazed as 
she took hold of Cora’s shoulder and shook 
her. “You tell me what I ask! Am I being 
held here for money?” 

“Yes,” and the sullen face of the woman 
glared at her. “ I s’pose you may’s well know 
that much. And there’s nothin’ more to know, 
so now I hope you’ll shut up. You’ve got 
clothes, you’ll get three meals a day, and there’s 
nothin’ more to be said.” 

“But must I stay in this one room?” and 
Patty looked anxiously around. 

“ You can have the run of this floor.” She 
threw open the hall door and Patty ran out. 

“ You needn’t try to go downstairs,” said Cora, 
“ for the door at the foot will be always double- 
locked and bolted. And you can’t jump out any 
of these third-floor windows without killin’ your- 
self. So, you can make yourself to home in any 
of these here rooms. Here’s a bathroom and 
here’s a big loft, if you want to dance.” 

1 13s ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Thank you, I don’t feel like dancing,” and 
Patty turned away from a glimpse into a dark, 
cobwebby room on the other side of the house. 
The bathroom and another bedroom next to her 
own were fairly decent r and she was really glad 
to have a little more space than just the one 
room she had wakened in. She wanted to ask 
more questions, but Cora hurried her work of 
“ tidying the room,” and went away, leaving 
Patty alone. 

The sound of the double-locking of the door at 
the foot of the stairs was very plain, and after 
that there was silence. Patty stood for a long 
time, stock-still in the middle of the hall, then 
she went back to the room she had slept in, 
and throwing herself on the bed, burst into 
tears. She cried long and hard, at first with 
choking, suffocating sobs. And then with long, 
trembling sighs and shaking spasms. At last, 
utterly spent, she lay still, and by degrees she 
grew quieter. And then, after a time, she fell 
asleep from sheer nervous and physical exhaus- 
tion. 

She was awakened by the entrance of Cora 
with her dinner. 

“Is it noon?” she asked, trying to speak 
lightly. 

[ 136 ] 


Cora 


“ Yes, it is, and here’s your dinner. You can 
eat it, and I’ll come back for the tray after a 
while.” 

Without a further word or glance she disap- 
peared. 

Patty got up from the bed, and looked at the 
tray, which Cora had set on a table, with some 
curiosity. 

Though a light eater, Patty liked regular meals 
and nourishing food. The dinner was not 
tempting, but it was cleanly served, and Patty 
ate more than she at first deemed possible. The 
cup of soup was not bad, and though the slice 
of meat was much the consistency of leather, yet 
there was a roast potato and a piece of apple 
pie that tasted very good to the prisoner. 

As she ate, Patty concocted a plan. Her cry, 
her nap, and her dinner had given her a little of 
her old spunk and she finished her pie with al- 
most a smile on her face. 

When Cora came for the tray, Patty lay on the 
bed, her face apparently buried in the pillow. 
But one blue eye cautiously kept a watch out. 
As the woman crossed the room to take the 
tray,. Patty jumped up, and darted out at the 
door, and locked it on the other side, making 
Cora a prisoner instead of herself ! 

[ 137 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

Listening at the door, she heard the woman’s 
harsh laugh ring out. 

“ Ho, ho! you think you’re smart, don’t you? 
Well, you listen to me! If you go downstairs 
you’ll get into a whole lot more trouble than 
you ever would up here ! ” 


[ 138 ] 


CHAPTER X 


A LETTER FROM GRIM 

N AN listened with paling cheeks to Mr. 
Fairfield’s story of Patty’s disappear- 
ance. Although she was Patty’s step- 
mother, they had always seemed more like sis- 
ters, and their very real affection was that of 
girl chums rather than mother and daughter. 

“I can’t believe it,” she said; “it is too in- 
credible ! It seems as if we must soon hear that 
there is a rational and casual explanation of her 
absence.” 

“ I’m afraid not, dear,” returned her husband. 
“ I feel certain it is a case of kidnapping, but 
the daring of the thing astounds me.” 

“ And yet it was a simple matter to carry her 
off like that.” 

“Yes; except that they ran a strong chance of 
being discovered.” 

“ I suppose they had a fast car waiting, and 
could escape, even if unsuccessful in their at- 
tempt.” 


[ 139 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ I suppose so. Oh, it is dreadful! To think 
of little, delicate Patty in some awful 
place ” 

“ Now, don’t give way, Fred. It’s terrible, 
but we’ll get her back. I want to do something ! 
Do you think the detective you have is the best 
you can get?” 

“ There’s nothing for a detective to do. We 
must wait for a communication of some sort 
from the kidnappers.” 

“ But we needn’t wait idly. Surely we can 
be working. Pm going to telephone to Fern 
Falls now, and see if there is any news.” 

They got the Kenerley house on the long dis- 
tance telephone, and Nan asked to speak with 
Adele. 

“ Now, brace up,” said Nan, cheerily, after 
their first exclamations of grief and despair. 
“ Patty is very likely in no discomfort; and we 
must leave no stone unturned to trace her where- 
abouts.” 

oV But what can we do? ” said Adele, between 
her sobs. “ We’ve scoured all the country 
round, this afternoon, but of course we’ve found 
no trace. It’s so dreadful to wait in suspense, 
but Jim says that’s all there is to do.” 

“ I don’t know about that. Anyway, I’m go- 
[ 140] 


A Letter from Grim 

ing up to your house to-morrow morning. I 
must see you all, and talk things over.” 

“Oh, do come! You and Mr. Fairfield, 
both. We’ll be so glad to have you! ” 

So Nan promised and then told her husband 
of the plan. He demurred at first. “ You see, 
to-morrow’s Sunday,” he said, “ and as there’s 
no mail delivered, I want to be here, in case a 
message is brought to the house.” 

“ All right,” said Nan. “ Then I’ll run up 
there, myself. I know it will do Adele good to 
see me, and I want to look over the place, and — 
oh, — I want to go for lots of reasons. I’ll come 
back in the afternoon.” 

Kit Cameron came in later, and when he heard 
of Nan’s projected journey he offered to go 
with her. 

So the two went up on the morning train. 

“ I can’t bear it,” said Adele, as she sobbed in 
Nan’s arms. “ We had Patty in our charge, and 
to think this horrible thing should happen to 
her ! ” 

“ Now, don’t feel that way,” said Nan, com- 
fortingly. “ It would probably have happened 
elsewhere if she had not been here. The detec- 
tive says that when these people plan a kidnap- 
ping, they watch for weeks and months before- 
[ Hi ] 


Patty’s Romance 

hand. And they always select somebody who 
is a specially idolised child, and, of course, Patty 
is. But we’re going to find her, and if it means 
big ransom money, no price is too big to pay. 
But the police want to catch the men, and I’m 
afraid that will interfere with the plans, and 
work against us. Fred and I want to give the 
money outright, and not try to punish them.” 

“ Oh, I think they ought to be caught. But 
they haven’t asked ransom yet, have they? ” 

“No; that’s what we are so anxious about. 
When they do, we’ll have something to work 
on.” 

“ And if they don’t? ” 

“ Oh, they will, of course. Why else would 
they take her? ” 

Daisy and Mona came in, looking like wrecks 
of the gay girls they usually were. 

But Nan spoke cheerily, and chided them for 
showing such despair. 

“ It’s bad enough,” she said, “ without acting 
as if Patty were dead. We have no reason to 
think she is being maltreated, and, anyway, we 
must keep up hope, and be ready to go to work 
the minute we get any news of her.” 

Then Nan asked to see Patty’s room, and she 
examined the balcony and the footmarks and the 

[ 142 ] 


A Letter from Grim 

scratches on the paint of the pillars where the 
ladder had been put up. 

“ It certainly looks as if a ladder had been 
there,” she said, “ but we can’t be positive. 
And yet, there is no other solution. What time 
did you people get to bed Friday night after 
the birthday party? ” 

“ Oh, it was awfully late, well after two; and 
it was nearly three before I went to sleep.” 

“ Then they must have come soon after that, 
for, of course, it happened before daylight. 
They had likely been watching all the evening, 
and knew what was going on all the time.” 

“ I say,” broke in Hal Ferris, “ I know you 
don’t agree with me, some of you, but I’d a 
whole lot rather think that Fatty eloped with 
Bill Farnsworth than that she was kidnapped.” 

“ Ridiculous ! ” cried Daisy. “ And you ought 
to be ashamed of yourself! If Patty wanted to 
marry Bill, goodness knows he is willing. Why 
on earth should they elope? ” 

“ Was Bill here? ” asked Nan, in surprise. 

“Yes,” said Hal, “he just came for a few 
moments, and he sent a note to Patty by a serv- 
ant, and she met him out at the orchard gate, 
about midnight.” 

“ And she had a perfect right to ! ” said Daisy. 
[ 143 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ He had only a few moments between trains, 
and he brought her a birthday gift, and wanted 
to give it to her alone. But you’re crazy to 
think of their eloping! ” 

“ I think so, too,” said Nan. “ Patty never 
would do that, nor Mr. Farnsworth either.” 

“ Indeed he wouldn’t! ” agreed Adele. “ Bill 
is a splendid fellow, — more so than most people 
realise, and he wouldn’t do anything under- 
handed.” 

“ That isn’t underhanded,” and Hal stood out 
for his theory. “ Young people have a right to 
elope, if they want to.” 

“ It isn’t the right or wrong of it, Mr. Ferris,” 
said Nan. “ But I know Patty too well to 
imagine that for a moment. I wish it might be 
true. As you say, that would be far better than 
having her kidnapped. But she never would do 
it, and even if she had, she would have commu- 
nicated with her father before this. Just think, 
she disappeared between three and five, we’ll 
say, Saturday morning, — and now it’s Sunday. 
If she were all right, and free to do as she 
chose, she wouldn’t let her father worry all 
this time ! ” 

“ Indeed, she wouldn’t,” said Hal. “ I admit 
I only thought of it, because I knew that Bill 
t 144] 


A Letter from Grim 

was here secretly, and because it seemed so 
much better to think that than the other.” 

“ He wasn’t here exactly secretly,” said Daisy. 
“ Mr. Peyton telephoned him to come.” 

“ Well, Bill Farnsworth wouldn’t do anything 
wrong,” declared Adele, who had known him 
for years. “ If he had carried Patty off, which 
of course he didn’t , he would have told us of it 
before this.” 

“ No,” said Nan, decidedly, “ there is no 
probable theory except that Patty was stolen by 
kidnappers. Oh, if they’d only let us know 
something, and end this suspense ! ” 

And soon after that, Mr. Fairfield telephoned 
that he had received a communication and 
that he was just starting for Fern Falls him- 
self. 

Eagerly they all awaited his arrival. The trip 
took more than two hours, and when at 
last he came, they listened breathlessly for his 
news. 

“ I thought I’d come up here,” he said, “ for 
I know you are all as anxious as we are. Well, 
here is the letter. I received it by Special De- 
livery just before I started.” 

The letter was entirely typewritten, and ran 
thus : 


[ 145 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Mistur Farefield. We have yure dawter 
Patty, and we will kepe her until you send us 
Ransum munny. We want Fifty thousand dol- 
lars. Now we mean business and if you try to 
ketch us you will never see your daughter again. 
So take your choice. Send us the munny as we 
dictate or lose all hoap of rescuing the girl. 
We dont want any fuss. If you are willing to 
pay and not endeavour to discover who we are, 
put a pursonal in the Herrald, and say so. 
Make it as obscure as you like we will under- 
stand. Sine it Fair. The girl will not be 
harmed in enny way unless you go to the 
poleece. Grim.” 

Nan read it first and passed it on to the others. 

“ It is just what I expected,” said Mr. Fair- 
field. “ I was sure they would ask a large ran- 
som and that they would make Patty’s safety 
dependent on the assurance that they should 
not be hunted down. Now, what am I to 
do?” 

“ Pay it,” cried Nan. “ Pay it, and call off the 
police first. If Patty’s safety depends on it, it 
must be paid, and it must be done exactly as 
they say. Oh, to think of our Patty in the power 
of those terrible people! I can’t stand it! ” 

[ 146 ] 


A Letter from Grim 

For the first time, Nan broke down. She had 
been cheerful and hopeful, but the certainty that 
Patty was in the hands of criminals was too 
much for her. Then she realised that deep as 
her grief was, Mr. Fairfield’s was even more so, 
for Patty was his own daughter, and an idolised 
one, too. 

“What do you make of the note?” asked 
Fred Fairfield of Mr. Kenerley. 

“ Faked,” was the response. “ I mean the 
writer is not so ignorant or illiterate as he pre- 
tends.” 

“ I thought that too,” returned Mr. Fairfield. 
“ The misspelling is overdone, and you see, 
when he tells important details, he forgets to 
misspell at all. The man who says, 4 make it as 
obscure as you like ’ is not an unlettered brute. 
Moreover, one can distinguish between words 
spelled wrong on purpose or through ignorance. 
Surely he knew how to spell my name, it is 
proved by his direction to sign my reply ‘ Fair.’ 
So when he spells it Farefield, it is surely done 
on purpose. And a man who can spell ‘ busi- 
ness ’ and ‘ endeavour ’ correctly is not going to 
write 4 sine ’ and 4 heap ’ except intentionally. 
Also, he spells 4 daughter ’ both right and 
wrong. This does not help us much, but it 
[ 147 ] 


* Patty’s Romance 

proves, to my mind, that the note is written by 
a man not illiterate, and consequently a man of 
more brains and cleverness than he desired us 
to think he possessed.” 

“ Why would he do that? ” asked Daisy. 

“ Only because he wanted us to think he is the 
sort of a man that he isn’t. Had he been a poor 
ignoramus, he would more likely have tried to 
spell his words right and seem learned. It’s 
really an attempt at disguise.” 

“ What are you going to do? ” asked Nan. 

“I don’t quite know; I thought we’d discuss 
the matter. I am, of course, ready to pay the 
amount if there is no other way to get Patty 
back safely. But public feeling is strongly 
against the encouragement of kidnappers by ac- 
cession to their demands, and it may be my duty 
to tell the police of this letter.” 

“ It certainly is,” declared Jim Kenerley. “ I 
feel as you do, personally, but there is another 
way to look at it. All good citizens ought to 
do everything in their power to uphold law and 
order against crime in any form. I, too, would 
be in favour of ignoring this fact, if it were 
the only way to rescue Patty. But is there not 
some way to get her back in safety and also trap 
the criminals? ” 


[148] 


A Letter from Grim * 

“ That’s what I want to find out,” and Mr. 
Fairfield looked grave. “ I’m as good a citizen 
as the next man, until it comes to the safety of 
my own flesh and blood. Then, I confess, my 
patriotism fades, beside the anxiety for my 
little girl’s safety.” 

“ What do you think of replying to this? ” 

“ I think I shall certainly put the personal in 
the paper, but I don’t know, myself, what the 
tenor of it will be.” 

After an earnest discussion of the problem 
from all sides, the following message was con- 
cocted : 

“ Grim : I want back the property of mine that 
you have. I am willing to meet your terms. 
What are they? Fair.” 

This notice could not appear, of course, until 
Monday morning, and so there was nothing to 
but wait. 

“ It is this horrible suspense that is killing us,” 
said Adele. “ If we could only get some word 
from Patty, that she is in no discomfort.” 

“ But we can’t,” said Nan. “ However, I 
know Patty, and unless in real danger or fear, 
she will be brave and plucky.” 

[ 149 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ She’ll be that,” said Kit, a even in the face 
of desperate danger! ” 

“ Yes, indeed,” said Mr. Fairfield, “ it is a 
comfort to think of Patty’s natural pluck and 
courage. She’ll never give up hope, and if there 
is anything to be done, she’ll do it. My poor 
little girl! ” 

The Fairfields and Kit Cameron went back to 
New York on a late afternoon train. Phil Van 
Reypen met them at the station, and went to 
the house with them. He approved of the mes- 
sage Mr. Fairfield sent, and though he wanted 
to catch and punish the kidnappers, he, too, was 
not willing to try to do so, if it meant possible 
harm to Patty. 

On Monday afternoon another letter came by 
Special Delivery. It was typewritten like the 
first one, and it said: 

“ Fair. All rite, if you mean on the square. 
Otherwise, look out for trouble. The girl is 
safe, but will not bee if you let the police in 
on this game. To gett her, you must do just as 
we say. Get the munny in bills, but not marked 
ones! Do them in a package and take it and 
check it at the parcel-room of the Pencilvaynia 
[ HO] 


A Letter from Grim 

Station. Then to-night, late, a messenger-boy will 
come to your house. Give him the check for the 
parcel in a sealed envelope. If you try in any 
way to follow the messenger, or if you ques- 
tion him, or if the police are told of any of this, 
your daughter’s life will pay the forfeit. We 
will not be caught, by any of the above means, 
we have laid our plans too carefully. Butt if 
you play fake, it is good-by for yure girl! Be- 
ware ! Grim.” 

Van Reypen was present and as he and Mr. 
Fairfield read the letter, they looked at each 
other aghast. 

“ It’s as I said,” observed Mr. Fairfield. 
“You see they misspell when they think of it, 
but when they are absorbed in the plans they’re 
detailing, they forget to spell wrongly.” 

“Now, what shall we do?” said Phil, look- 
ing up from the letter. 

“ Just as they tell us ! ” and Mr. Fairfield 
thumped his fist on the table. “ I’m all ready 
to chase kidnappers when other people’s chil- 
dren are stolen, but when it’s my own girl I sur- 
render. But I can’t get the money in bills now, 
it’s too late. The bank is closed, or will be be- 
fore I could reach it.” 

[GO 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Look here, Mr. Fairfield, I’m not at all sure 
you ought to give up that money so easily. 
How do we know these are the men who took 
Patty? May not some other scoundrels who 
know about the case be working this game on 
you? ” 

“ I hardly think so, Van Reypen. You see, 
these are the only people who have communi- 
cated with us at all.” 

“ I know it, but you ought to have proof they 
are the kidnappers. Suppose you ask for 
proofs. When the messenger comes to-night, 
give him a note for ‘ Grim ’ saying you want 
proof of Patty’s identity.” 

“ But he won’t send a messenger if we don’t 
put the parcel in the check-room.” 

“ Well, put a parcel there, but a dummy one. 
Then when the messenger comes, you have a di- 
rect means of communication with Grim. Of 
course, he will watch the parcel-room until you 
go there.” 

After some further persuasion from Philip, 
Mr. Fairfield agreed. A parcel was made, 
of the approximate size of the bundle of bills, 
and Fred Fairfield himself went and left it at 
the parcel-room designated, getting a check 
for it. 


[152] 


A Letter from Grim 

With Van Reypen and Nan, he waited all the 
evening, and at eleven a messenger boy came. 
He merely said he was sent for an envelope, 
and from his casual and indifferent demeanour, 
they felt sure he knew nothing of the presumed 
contents of the envelope. 

The letter Mr. Fairfield gave him said: 

“ Grim: I am playing square with you. The 
parcel I checked is a dummy. I could not get 
the money after banking-hours, and moreover, 
I want proof that you have my daughter. How 
can I tell which is the real one, when several are 
sending me demands for money? Give me 
proof. Let her telephone me, and if I recog- 
nise her voice, I will meet your plans in every 
detail. Fair.” 


[ 153] 


CHAPTER XI 


THE TWO MEN 

W HEN Patty heard Cora’s warning, she 
hesitated about going down the 
stairs. Then, determined to use every 
effort to learn something more of her surround- 
ings, she cautiously tiptoed down the dark stair- 
case to the door at the foot of it. The stairs 
were steep and walled in, so it was very dark, 
and only a ray of light came through the key- 
hole of the door. But this sufficed for Patty to 
get her bearings, and reaching the lowest step, 
she did not try the door, but stood very still and 
listened. 

She heard the voices of two men, talking in 
rather angry tones. As they went right on with 
their talk, Patty felt sure they had not heard 
her footsteps, and she stood, listening. 

“ Don’t write it so good,” said one man, a 
deep, bass voice, that was not indicative of re- 
finement or culture. 

Patty was surprised to hear the other voice 
[ 154 ] 


The Two Men 

say, in a high, clear voice, “ u That doesn’t mat- 
ter. So they get the message is all I care 
about.” 

What surprised Patty was the way in which the 
words were spoken. The speaker seemed of 
her own class, and hi^ little light laugh be- 
tokened a more educated man than the other. 

“ No, Jack,” said the deep-voiced man, “ I tell 
you you must make it seem like the letter of a 
tough. If not, they’ll know that ‘ Gentleman 
Jack ’ has a hand in this thing, at once.” 

“ All right, Reddy,” and then Patty heard the 
scratching of a pen. 

“There, how’s that?” and Jack, Patty as- 
sumed, must have given his letter to the other 
to read. 

How she wished she could see what was going 
on ! But the keyhole, though it showed a tiny 
light, gave no view whatever of the room or its 
occupants. 

“ That’ll do,” and Reddy grunted in approval. 
“ I’ll send it by Special Delivery and he’ll get 
it to-morrow morning.” 

Intuition told Patty it was a letter about her, — 
probably demanding ransom. Her indignation 
and anger rose to boiling point. She felt no 
fear, she scorned the idea of danger. Impul- 
[ 155 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

sively she threw open the door and faced the 
two men. 

The big one sprang to his feet with a rude 
exclamation. The other remained in his seat at 
the table, and looked at her a little curiously. 

“What are you doing here? ” demanded the 
big man, whom she had heard called Reddy. 

“I am here to demand my release!” and 
Patty’s blue eyes flashed. “ How dare you keep 
me here? ” 

The man called Jack laughed, and in that 
laugh Patty realised at once the hopelessness 
of her situation. It was not a rude laugh, nor 
even a disrespectful one, but it plainly showed 
the absurdity of Patty’s defiance of her captors. 

“ You little idiot! ” began Reddy, with a fierce 
glare, but Jack interrupted him. 

“ Shut up, you ! ” he said to his colleague. 
Then, turning to Patty, “ Miss, if you behave 
yourself quietly, I assure you it will be much bet- 
ter for you. Your common-sense must tell you 
there’s no use in your taking that attitude. 
You are in our power. Now will you return 
to the woman upstairs who will look after you, 
or will you make it necessary for us to lock you 
up in a less desirable prison? ” 

The look on Reddy’s face, more than the 
[ 156 ] 


The Two Men 


words of Jack, scared Patty. She felt very 
small and helpless. She knew she could in no 
way induce these men to set her free, and doubt- 
less her best course was to return to the woman. 
But Patty’s pluck was not so easily daunted. 
Almost involuntarily, she broke out: 

“ You won’t do either! You will let me go! 
Send me home! I demand it! If you want 
money, take me home, and my father will give 
it to you ! ” 

Patty was a little hysterical. She knew it was 
foolish to talk like this, but she couldn’t help 
it. It seemed too ignominious to return meekly 
to the woman she had locked in the bedroom. 

“ Here, here, now, no more of this rubbish ! ” 
Reddy spoke with a menacing gesture as he 
strode toward her. 

“ Don’t you dare to touch me ! ” Patty 
screamed, and then her courage gave way, and 
she stood pale and trembling, looking like a 
hunted deer brought to bay by her pursuers. 

“ He won’t touch you, miss,” and Jack got up 
and came toward her. “ But, truly, it is for 
your own best interests to go back upstairs.” 

“ I know it is,” said Patty, more quietly; “ and 
I’ll go, if you’ll show me that letter you’ve just 
written.” 


[ 157 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Ho ! ho ! ” laughed Reddy in an unpleasant 
way; “ we’ll do nothing of the sort ! Now, you 
scoot upstairs, and stay there, or you’ll be sorry ! 
How did you get down, anyway? Where’s 
Cora?” 

“ I locked her in the room,” said Patty, struck 
with a sudden idea that this would amuse the big 
man. Nor was she mistaken. 

“ Locked her in ! Ha, ha ! Ho, ho ! You’re 
a plucky young ’un, you are! But that only 
means we must keep a stricter watch over you ! 
Now, will you go upstairs peaceably, and unlock 
that room, or shall I make you do it? ” 

He looked so ferocious that Patty quickly 
resolved to drop her attitude of bravado, for 
she saw it would do her no good. 

“ I’ll go,” she said, meekly. “ But, mayn’t I 
see that letter first? ” 

“ No, you may not! ” and Reddy thundered at 
her in his deepest voice. 

“ Won’t you show it to me? ” and Patty turned 
a wheedlesome smile on Jack. 

“ Sorry, miss,” he returned, politely, “ but we 
can’t do that. How do you know it concerns 
you, anyway? ” 

“ I know it’s a letter to my father, asking ran- 
som for my return! ” Again Patty’s anger got 

[ 158] 


The Two Men 

the better of her discretion. “ And if you send 
it you’ll get arrested and brought to jus- 
tice ! ” 

“ Thank you, miss, for your interest in our wel- 
fare,” and Jack smiled sarcastically. “ But we 
must judge of that. You’re here; we’re after 
ransom — we don’t deny it. But it will be more 
quickly arranged for if you do your part, which 
is to do nothing.” 

“ Of course, I’ll do nothing,” and Patty glared 
at him. “ But only because I can’t. You are 
cowards to take advantage of a helpless girl! 
Where is your chivalry? ” 

Reddy broke into a loud guffaw at this, and 
it was rather a ridiculous question in the cir- 
cumstances. 

“ You might as well know,” he said, “ that as 
a rule, people like us ain’t overburdened with 
that there chivalry! ” 

But Jack said, “ I’m sorry, miss, that we must 
admit that. But, at least, we will treat you with 
respect, if you will let us. Please be advised by 
me, and go back to Cora, and stay there. I 
assure you it is the best course for you to 
pursue.” 

“ Too much palaver! ” growled Reddy; “ too 
much talk! You go upstairs ! Now git! ” 

[ 159 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

Without so much as a glance at him, Patty 
turned to Jack and smiled, as she said, “ Your 
advice is good, and I shall take it, — for the 
present.” Then she went upstairs. 

After a step or two, she paused, and she heard 
Reddy say, “ She’s a bold young ’un, and we’ve 
got to keep her mighty close. But it was darin’ 
of her to lock Cora in ! ” And then he chuckled, 
as at a huge joke. 

Patty lost none of this, for she felt she must 
get all possible light on the situation, to know 
what to do. She had no intention of sitting idly 
to await developments. Nor had she any idea 
what she would do, but she meant to do some- 
thing to effect her escape. They had not denied 
that the letter was to her father, so she was sure 
that it was. Therefore he would soon know 
what had happened to her, and would do every- 
thing possible to rescue her. But Patty wanted 
to keep him from paying ransom if she could. 
It hurt her sense of justice to think of these 
horrible men getting a large sum from her 
father, if her release could be effected in any 
other way. She had no plans, but she had hopes 
of thinking of something clever or ingenious 
that would help her out. 

Slowly she w r ent upstairs and along the hall. 

[ 1 60 ] 


The Two Men 

She listened at the door she had locked, but 
heard no sound. So she concluded that Cora 
felt no uneasiness at her going downstairs, since 
the two men were there to look after her. A 
vague idea went through her mind, that some 
other time she would get downstairs when the 
men were out, and so make her escape. Then, 
she realised, she would probably not get such a 
chance again, for this escapade of hers had put 
them on their guard. 

She unlocked the door, and entered the room. 
Cora sat, rocking, by the window. 

“ Where you been? ” she said, indifferently. 

“ Talking with Jack and Reddy,” returned 
Patty. 

“ You’re a cool one,” and Cora looked at her 
with a sort of admiration. “ Did you learn 
much? ” 

“ Heaps,” and Patty smiled mysteriously. She 
was by no means inclined to satisfy Cora’s 
evident curiosity as to what had transpired be- 
low stairs. 

But the woman asked no further ques- 
tions. She took up the tray that had held 
Patty’s dinner and started to leave the 
room. 

“ Amuse yourself as you like till tea-time,” she 
[ 161 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

said, a little sardonically. “ You have the run 
of this floor, but if you ask me, I think you’d 
better stay up here.” 

“ I shall,” said Patty. “ I’ve no desire for 
further communication with those two men. 
Which of them is your husband? ” 

The suddenness of the question seemed to 
startle Cora. She set down her tray and looked 
at Patty, curiously. 

“ How do you know either of them is?” 

“ Because you wouldn’t be here in this house 
with them otherwise.” 

“ That’s so,” and Cora looked serious. “ Well, 
the big one’s my husband.” 

“ Reddy? ” 

“ That’s what they call him, ’cause his hair is 
sorta red. He’s a brute ! Miss, I warn you to 
keep away from him.” 

“ Thank you, Cora,” and Patty looked at the 
woman kindly. “ I realise that you have no 
hand in this thing except as you’re under his 
orders.” 

“ That’s honestly true, miss,” and Cora 
glanced at the door as if in fear of being over- 
heard. “ If it was up to me, I’d let you out 
in a minute, but he’d kill me.” 

“Yes, I believe he would. Well, Cora, I 
[ 162 ] 


The Two Men 


know you will do all you can to keep me com- 
fortable and safe here.” 

“ That I will, miss. But I can’t do much, and 
that you can see for yourself.” 

She went away, and Patty sat down to think. 
But thinking was not very satisfactory. She 
wanted to do ! She felt like tearing down the 
walls or jumping out the window. Her indigna- 
tion knew no bounds and to sit, inert and idle, 
nearly drove her frantic. By way of exercise, 
she walked around and around, in and out of 
each room, through the hall, and into the big, 
empty loft and out again. But she learned 
nothing. 

She looked long and earnestly out of every 
window, but there was no house in sight from 
any of them, with the single exception of the 
house she had at first seen from the window of 
her bedroom. It was a farmhouse, with two 
red chimneys, but it was much too far away for 
Patty to attract the attention of its occupants. 
She thought of shouting, but knew she could 
not make herself heard. She thought of flying 
a sheet from the window as a signal of distress, 
but the house was too far away for the people 
to see it; and, too, they would not think it had 
a special significance, as it would be looked 
[ 163 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

upon as merely a detail of the household 
work. 

Patty kept up her walk and her vigilant search 
for some clue as to where she was. The view 
from each window she studied carefully, but to 
no avail. Each landscape was but an arrange- 
ment of fields, trees, and bushes in the fore- 
ground with a hazy background of distant hills. 
Nor were the hills familiar. Those she viewed 
from Adele’s house, both far and near, she knew 
by sight, but these were not the same, or if they 
were, a different point of view made them seem 
different. She gazed at every hill, trying to 
recognise its outlines, but she could not succeed. 

Patty had no timepiece, and as the weary 
afternoon hours dragged by she resolved to ask 
Cora for a clock of some sort, so that she might 
at least keep count of the hours of her cap- 
tivity. 

Poor little Patty! Accustomed always to 
dainty appointments and loving care, she looked 
in disgust at her sordid surroundings, and a 
great wave of homesickness engulfed her, as 
she despairingly dropped into the rocking-chair 
by the window, and gave way to another crying 
spell. 

“ It isn’t very brave to cry so much,” she said, 

1 164] 


The Two Men 

whimsically, to herself, “ but it really doesn’t 
matter, since I can’t do anything else. I 
wouldn’t be a cry-baby if there were any work 
to be done, or any effort to be made.” 

But there wasn’t anything to do, and so Patty 
spent the whole afternoon, alternately crying 
and walking about trying to plan an escape. 

To jump from a window was out of the ques- 
tion, for the fall would surely cripple her if not 
kill her, and then she could not make an escape. 
To get downstairs, in any way, was to fall into 
the hands of the two men ; and of Reddy, Patty 
was really afraid. She decided that if she could 
ever see the men go away, she would then try 
to circumvent or overpower Cora, and run away 
from the house. But it was not easy to deter- 
mine which way to watch for the men’s depart- 
ure. Her investigations had shown her that 
there was a front door on the road-side of the 
house, and also a back door on the opposite 
side. Presumably, she thought, the men would 
go out at the front door, but this was by no 
means certain. The back door opened on a 
small and untidy yard, and from here a foot- 
path wound through the underbrush and dis- 
appeared in the woods. The front door opened 
directly on the road, but Patty could see the 

[165] 


Patty’s Romance 

road only a short distance either way, as the 
trees shaded its sudden turns. 

However, she concluded to watch the front 
door, and did so for a long time, but with no 
result. She concluded from this, that the men 
used the back door, and determined to watch 
that the next day. 

And then the dusk fell, and as Patty sat, lonely 
and sad, her thoughts flew back to her birthday 
party and the gay scenes she had so suddenly 
been torn away from. She thought of her home 
and her friends, she thought of her whole life. 

“ But, my goodness ! ” she admonished herself ; 
“I’ll get back there yet! Frederick Fairfield 
isn’t going to let his daughter stay lost, if it 
takes his whole fortune to get her back! ” 

She thought of her father receiving that letter, 
which she was convinced carried the news of her 
captivity. She knew her father would not waste 
a minute, but would do everything possible, and 
at once, to rescue her. “ Why, most likely, I’ll 
go home to-morrow ! ” she told herself, in a 
burst of optimistic hope. 

And then Cora brought her supper. Patty 
looked at it critically. “ H’m ! ” she said. 
“ Canned peaches. Couldn’t you get any straw- 
berries? ” 


[ 166] 


The Two Men 


Cora stared at her. Patty couldn’t have told 
herself, exactly, why she felt an impulse to jolly 
the woman, but she had a vague idea that if she 
established a sort of good-fellowship with her, 
she might learn more than if she stood aloof. 

“ You take what you get,” returned Cora, 
shortly, “ and be thankful you get anything.” 

“Pooh!” said Patty; “you wouldn’t let me 
starve, because it’s to your advantage to keep 
me alive, so you can get the money for me. 
Suppose I refuse to eat, what then? ” 

“ Don’t you come any hunger-strike dodge, 
now! I can tell you you’d better not. You eat 
what I bring you, or you’ll be made to eat it, 
and not by me, neither.” 

The woman nodded her head toward the hall, 
and Patty wasn’t sure that one of the men might 
not be out there listening. 

“ Oh, well,” she said, casually, “ it doesn’t 
matter. And Pm a light eater, anyway. Only, 
I do hate canned peaches in summer time.” 

“ Do you now, miss? ” and Cora looked really 
concerned. “ Well, you tell me what you like 
and I’ll try my best to get it for you. But I 
doubt if Jack will let me get strawberries for 
i you. They’re high now.” 

“But, good gracious!” said Patty, smiling; 
[ 167 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ if he’s going to get a lot of ransom money for 
me, he’s a rich man.” 

“ Well, you see, he hasn’t got it yet.” 

“ No, I suppose not. Does it take long to get 
ransoms? How long am I likely to be here? ” 

“ I don’t know, I’m sure.” 

“ And you wouldn’t tell me, if you did ! Well, 
tell me this. It can’t do any harm. Whose 
house is that over there. The one with the red 
chimneys? ” 

“ I don’t know,” and without another word 
Cora took the supper tray and left the room. 
Patty heard her lock the door at the foot of the 
stairs, and then the poor child was left alone 
again, to face the night. 


[168] 


CHAPTER XII 


BUTTER AND EGGS 

H OW Patty lived through the next two 
days she never knew. The hours 
seemed interminable. Her solitude 
was broken only when Cora came to bring her 
meals, and poor Patty grew to welcome even 
the advent of the woman as a relief from the 
utter quiet of her loneliness. Her mood 
changed often. She was now despairing and 
hopeless, and then again, rebellious and bel- 
ligerent. She didn’t go downstairs again, for 
she had no wish to encounter the two men. Nor 
did she try to persuade Cora to help her, for she 
soon saw it was of no use. She had, at first, 
thought of bribing the woman to help her 
escape, but the merest hint of it showed her 
the plan was hopeless. Cora was even more 
afraid of big Reddy than Patty was herself, 
and it was quite evident there was no help to be 
looked for from that direction. 

So Patty just sat and wondered how long it 
[ 169 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

would take to release her. Not for a moment 
did she doubt that she would be released, and 
that at the earliest possible moment. But she 
knew it would take some time for the kidnap- 
pers to come to terms with her father, and, 
too, she knew there might be police complica- 
tions that would delay the process. 

Patty was philosophical and brave, but even 
philosophy and bravery are apt to fail after 
two or three days of solitude. 

It was Monday when she said to Cora, “ Do 
stay here with me a while. I’ll go crazy if you 
don’t. I promise not to ask you questions if 
you’ll only sit here and chat a while.” 

“ I oughtn’t to,” returned Cora. “ But I do 
feel sorry for you. You’ve been mighty good 
and patient.” 

“ Only because I had to be. I didn’t feel so, I 
assure you! But as there is no use making a 
row, I haven’t done so. Do you suppose I’d sit 
here so tamely, if there were anything to be 
gained by rebelling? ” 

“ Well, you’re right, there ain’t no use kick- 
ing. Do you want something to read, now?” 

“What?” 

“ Well, I ain’t got much and that’s the truth. 
In fact, I ain’t got anything but some cheap 
[ 170 ] 


Butter and Eggs 

novels and I don’t s’pose you’d care for that 
kind.” 

“ No, I don’t believe I should. I’d rather talk 
to you a little. Oh, Cora, do tell me how long 
I’ll be here ! Suppose you had a sister, — a girl 
who had never before had any trouble, — and 
suppose she was shut up alone like this, wouldn’t 
you want somebody to comfort her a little?” 

Cora looked undecided. She glanced at Patty 
and the tears came into her eyes. She looked 
quickly away. u I can’t help myself, miss. It’s 
him makes me do it. He swore me not to talk 
to you at all, and not to tell you anything about 
what’s goin’ on. And so I can’t.” 

She was adamant, and Patty realised that 
though she was sympathetic, she dared not 
show it. 

“ All right,” she said, sighing a little. “ I see 
how it is. But just tell me this. Have they 
communicated with my father? ” 

Cora looked fearfully round, and then, with 
her finger on her lips, she nodded her head af- 
firmatively. 

“ It’s a help to know that! ” exclaimed Patty, 
almost joyfully. “ Then something will be done 
soon. Oh, Cora, thank you for this glimmer 
of hope.” 


[ 171 J 


Patty’s Romance 

“ I don’t see’s there’s much hope so far. You 
knew they’d do that.” 

“ Yes, of course. But it’s good to be assured 
that it’s really been done. You can’t imagine 
what it means to have no word, no knowledge of 
what’s being done ! No word from the dear 
people who love you ! No message from those 
who are trying every possible way to find you ! 
Oh, Cora, have pity ! Tell me something more ! 
I’m greedy to hear anything, — anything at all 
from home.” 

“ There’s nothing to tell,” said Cora, but she 
looked at the girl pityingly. “ They’ve written 
your father and he has answered that he’ll do as 
they say. Now, they’re fixin’ up ways and 
means, but they’re ’fraid of the police, and it 
ain’t easy to hit on a way of deliverin’ the 
money. You see, they won’t be caught. 
They’ll ” 

Cora stopped suddenly, but with a strange in- 
tuition Patty finished her sentence for her. 
“ They’ll kill me first,” she said, looking 
straight at the woman. 

Cora looked back at her, and Patty read con- 
firmation in her eyes. 

“ But they sha’n’t! ” Cora cried out, and with a 
sudden wild gesture she threw her arms round 

[ 172 ] 


Butter and Eggs 

Patty and held her close. “ You dear little 
thing, you, I’ve learned to love you, and not a 
hair of your head shall be harmed! I’ll kill 
Reddy myself first! ” 

“ Oh, don’t talk of killing,” and Patty, as- 
sured of Cora’s devotion, began to cheer up. 
“ Nobody is going to be killed. But, if you 
could help me to get away.” 

“ No,” and Cora looked sullen again. “ I 
can’t do that. If you are in personal danger, 
I promise to save you, but I dare not disobey 
Reddy otherwise. He has promised me, you 
shall not be hurt in any way, but if he is cor- 
nered himself, I wouldn’t trust him. Now you 
forget all I’ve said. You don’t want to get me 
into trouble, do you? ” 

“Indeed, I don’t! And after I’m safely at 
home, I’ll remember how kind you’ve been to 
me, and I’ll ” 

“ No, don’t say anything like that, miss. 
And unless you say you’ll forget it, I’ll take 
back all I said about helpin’ you in case o’ 
need.” 

She was a queer woman and Patty saw she was 
deeply in earnest, so she only replied, “ Very 
well, Cora, just as you say.” But she fully de- 
termined to remember and reward the kindness 
[ 173 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

that prompted the offer of help, should it be 
needed. 

When Cora went away, Patty sat down by the 
window, to think over what she had learned. 
It was nothing at all, but that the kidnappers 
were trying to make terms with her father. 
But to the poor, heart-starved girl this seemed 
much to know. She pictured them at home. 
She knew how her father would crush down his 
grief and anxiety as he took the necessary meas- 
ures for her safe return. She knew how Nan, 
though frantic with fears for Patty, would 
bravely bear up, to cheer her husband and to 
help all by her comforting hope. 

She was sorriest, perhaps, for Adele. She 
knew how she and Jim would worry over the 
fact of the awful thing happening at their home. 
Though in no way to blame, they would hold 
themselves, in a way, responsible for Patty’s 
safety while with them. 

Then she thought of all her friends, and they 
were so numerous. Daisy and Mona would be 
full of plans for her rescue. The boys, too, 
would help. Phil Van Reypen would be wild, 
and determined to avenge the crime. Kit 
Cameron would be heartbroken, but he was not 
the sort to make very definite effort. 

[ 174 ] 


Butter and Eggs 

If Little Billee were here! Patty’s thoughts 
flew back to the night he parted from her at 
the orchard gate. How big he was, and how 
forceful ! If he had those kidnappers at his 
mercy, they would get their just reward ! But 
Little Billee was far, far away; why, he must 
be nearly back to Arizona by this time. Fri- 
day night he had left her, and now it was Mon- 
day afternoon. Dear old Bill. He would feel 
sorry if he ever heard of this. And Phil. He 
would feel sorry too. Oh, well, everybody 
would be sorry, but she wished their sorrow 
could hurry things up, and get her back home. 

She thought these things over and over till she 
could stand it no longer, and jumping up from 
her chair began to pace back and forth. 

She paused at the window and looked at the 
house, the only one in sight. For the thousandth 
time, it seemed to her, she looked at it, wonder- 
ing who lived there and if she couldn’t contrive 
some way to attract their attention. And then, 
all of a sudden, she recognised the house ! Yes, 
it surely was a house she knew. For some min- 
utes she stared at it, thinking what it was about 
it that at last had struck her as being familiar. 

Then it came to her! It was Mrs. Fay’s 
house, the very one where she and Philip had 
[ 175 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

gone last winter when Adele sent them for but- 
ter and eggs. The more she looked, the surer 
she felt that it was the same one. She only 
wondered that she hadn’t thought of it before. 
The position of the chimneys, the shape of the 
roof, — yes, — she could place the windows of the 
very room she had slept in that night she spent 
there. 

She laughed at the remembrance of the queer 
old-fashioned dressing-gown her hostess had 
lent her, and then smiled again as she realised 
that the wrapper she now wore was even worse 
as to texture and colouring 

But, after all, it did little good to know that 
the house was Mrs. Fay’s. If she could get 
word to her, it would be one thing; but beyond 
all means of communication, it was of no as- 
sistance to remember the name of her neigh- 
bour. And yet, it was a sort of comfort to 
know just where she was. Why, the Fay house 
was only about twelve or fifteen miles from 
Adele’s, and they might perhaps search that far, 
on the chance of finding her. Oh, if she could 
only think up some way to send a message ! 

But there was no way. She had exhausted her- 
self already, trying to think of some way to 
signal that house. And now that she knew who 
[ 176 ] 


Butter and Eggs 

lived there, it was no more possible than 
before. 

But still, when Patty went to bed that night, 
it was with a slight feeling of comfort to know 
that she was so near those good-hearted, kind 
ladies, who had been so hospitable to her and 
Philip when they were snow-bound there. 

“ What’s the matter with you? ” asked Cora, 
curiously, as she brought Patty’s breakfast next 
morning. 

“ Nothing,” said Patty. “ Why ? ” 

“ You look different.” 

“ Different how? ” 

“ Glad, somehow. As if you had had good 
news.” 

“ I haven’t,” and Patty looked sadly at her. 
“ You know I haven’t.” 

“ ’Course I know you couldn’t have, but you 
do seem more chirky.” 

“ Perhaps Pm getting used to this sort of 
thing.” 

“ No, ’tain’t that. I guess you had nice 
dreams.” 

“ I did. I dreamt of home.” 

“ Well, here’s your breakfast, eat it while it’s 
hot.” 

“ You’re real good to me, Cora. Why is it? ” 
[ 177 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Well, I’ve kinda taken a notion to you. I 
don’t deny I’m sorry for you, and if I had my 
way, I’d send you home.” 

“ I know you would. But Cora, don’t you ever 
leave the house? Don’t you go for a walk, 
ever? ” 

“ No. Reddy won’t let me leave the premises 
at all.” 

“ But couldn’t you? If you would take a note 
somewhere for me, I’d — why, Cora, I’d get out 
of this, and I’d give you money enough after I 
got home for you to be independent of Reddy 
all your life.” 

“ I can’t do that, miss. You see, when all’s 
said and done, he’s my husband, and I ain’t got 
no right to go back on him.” 

“ But he hasn’t any right to kidnap me! You 
ought to help me get away. But, Cora, sup- 
pose I plan some way so that he won’t know 
anything about it. Say, when he’s away, and 
Jack, too, if you just took a note to that house 
over there ” 

“ Now you shut up. I ain’t going to do no 
such thing! I daresn’t! Why, Reddy would 
kill me ! ” 

“ He wouldn’t know it.” 

“ Wouldn’t he ! You can’t keep anything from 
[ 178 ] 


Butter and Eggs 

that man! He’d know it in two minutes after 
it was done! That he would! ” 

Patty sighed and gave it up. At least, for the 
present. She had concluded that if she ever 
succeeded in getting Cora to help her, it would 
be by successive persuasions. She couldn’t do it 
all at once. 

So she ate her breakfast, or rather, she tried 
to eat it. She didn’t like the fare they gave 
her, but she was too sensible to raise many ob- 
jections to it. She watched for a chance to 
renew her pleading with Cora, but the woman’s 
face wore that sullen, inscrutable look that Patty 
had learned meant strict devotion to duty, or 
what she considered her duty. 

Cora went away, but after a short time she 
returned. This was unusual, and Patty hoped 
she had come to chat and that she was in a 
softer mood. 

But Cora spoke rather sharply. “ Come 
downstairs,” she said; ‘‘you’re wanted.” 

“ Wanted downstairs ! ” and Patty’s heart 
jumped with hope. Surely that must mean she 
was to be liberated. 

“ Don’t get excited,” Cora said, “ and if you 
ask me, you’d better do just as you’re told, or 
you’ll get into trouble worse’n you’ve been in.” 
[ 179 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Tell me, Cora, what I’m to do,” and Patty’s 
voice trembled with apprehension. 

“ Nothin’ hard if you do as you’re told. But 
don’t try any smarty-cat games, ’cause they 
won’t work. Now, come on.” 

Patty followed her through the hall and down 
the stairs. Then down another flight of stairs 
to a room on the ground floor of the house. 
She found there the two men, Jack and Reddy. 
The big man looked ugly, but Jack was polite 
and civil of manner. 

Reddy spoke first. “ Miss,” he said, gruffly, 
“ your father is at the other end of this tele- 
phone. Pie wants you to speak to him. Now, 
wait!” as Patty sprang forward. “ It’s just 
like this. You’re to say what we tell you to, — 
got that? ” 

“ Yes,” and Patty faced him bravely. 

“ And nothin’ but what we tell you to. Got 
that?” 

“ Yes,” and Patty looked at him in a queer 
way, her glance wandering and her fingers nerv- 
ously picking at the sides of her calico wrap- 
per. 

“ She’s going to collapse,” said Jack, who was 
watching her narrowly. 

“ No, I’m not,” said Patty. “ The suddenness 
[ 180] 


Butter and Eggs 

overcame me, that’s all. What am I to say, to 
say, — to say ” 

Patty’s voice trailed off in an incoherent mur- 
mur and she sank into a chair. 

“ She’s going to faint,” declared Jack. 

“ Don’t let her ! ” roared Reddy. “ Make her 
talk first. Here you, — do your talking first and 
faint afterward! This is your only chance to 
get home, now take it.” 

“ I will,” said Patty, holding out her hand in 
a dazed way for the receiver. - 

“No, you don’t! I’ll hold the receiver my- 
self! Hello! . . . Yes, yes, I say! ... all 
right! Here she is! . . . now, miss, say your 
name, nothing more.” 

So not holding the receiver, but speaking 
straight into the transmitter, Patty said : 

“ Yes, daddy, dear, this is Patty. Phil, butter 
and eggs, Phil, butter and eggs, Phil, butter 
and ” 

As Reddy snatched the instrument from her 
shaking fingers, Patty fell over in a faint. 

“ Drat her! What was she talking about? ” 
cried Reddy, and then he took up the telephone 
conversation himself, and Patty heard him say, 
“Now, are you sure? Is that her voice or 
not?” 


[181] 


Patty’s Romance 

She heard no more, for Cora and Jack were 
assisting her upstairs. They laid her on her 
bed, and Jack went away. Cora bathed her 
face with cool water, and looked at her dubi- 
ously. 

“ Did you faint? ” she asked at last. 

“ I don’t know,” and Patty rubbed her fore- 
head, and looked bewildered. “ I was so ex- 
cited and nervous, I hardly knew what to say. 
I said what I was told to, — didn’t I? ” 

“ Yes; and then you babbled a lot about butter 
and eggs.” 

“How funny! I must have been out of my 
head! ” 

“ Pm not so sure you was,” returned Cora, 
grimly. “You know I told you not to cut up 
no tricks.” 

“ But,” and Patty gazed at Cora with wide- 
open blue eyes; “ if I talked nonsense because 
I was fainting, that was not my fault, was 
it?” 

“ No, I s’pose not. How do you feel now? ” 

“ I feel weak and tired. If you’ll pull down 
the shades, I believe I’ll try to go to sleep. I’m 
always like that, Cora. A sudden fright or ex- 
citement makes me lose my nerve, and some- 
times I go all to pieces and talk incoherently 
[182] 


Butter and Eggs 

that way, — and now, I’m — drowsy — good — 

night — Cora, — good ” 

Patty’s eyes closed and she breathed fitfully. 
Cora stood looking at her. 

“ Poor little thing,” she murmured. “ I’m 
right down sorry for her.” 

The woman looked at Patty in silence for a 
moment longer, and then went and sat in the 
chair by the window. She concluded to stay 
there a while, lest her charge should need her. 
As she sat, Patty’s back was toward her, and 
Cora would have been greatly surprised if she 
could have seen the expression on the girl’s 
face. 

For Patty was smiling broadly. 

“Will it work?” she said to herself, trying 
to keep her eyelids down over her dancing eyes. 
“ Oh, will it work! ” 


[183] 


CHAPTER XIII 


PHILIP UNDERSTANDS 

F rederick fairfield shook with 

terrified emotion as he hung up the re- 
ceiver of his library telephone. Nan sat 
beside him, but she had, of course, heard only 
his words and not those of the persons speak- 
ing to him. 

“It was Patty’s voice!” he said, chokingly. 
“Oh, Nan! where do you suppose she is?” 

“ At least, she is safe, dear, so far, from illness 
or harm. What did she say? ” 

Nan herself was quivering with excited impa- 
tience to learn the news, but Mr. Fairfield was 
so nervously wrought up that she tried to speak 
calmly in an endeavour to help him. 

“ I hardly know what she said, the sound of 
her voice broke me all up.” 

“ Of course it did, dear. What did the men 
say?” 

“ Only one spoke. He said now he had proved 
that he had Patty, I must send him the money 
[184] 


Philip Understands 

as he stipulated, by means of the checked 
parcel.” 

“ Then can’t the police be watching, and so 
catch the men? ” 

“ I’m afraid to have it so. He warned me 
very solemnly that if I attempted or allowed 
such a thing as that I would never see Patty 
again.” 

“Then don’t do it! Follow their directions 
to the letter, and get her back. Then, if the 
police can do anything after that, all 
right.” 

“ He said they had Patty in a house, where she 
was comfortable enough, and had a woman to 
take care of her. He said after they got the 
money, they would go away, and when they were 
beyond fear of pursuit would send me word 
how to reach her.” 

“ Leaving her there alone, in the meantime ! ” 

“ I suppose so.” 

“ Well,” and Nan choked back her tears, “ it 
is something to know all this. Now let us get to 
work. When are you to leave the parcel at the 
station? ” 

“ Any time to-day. He said he would send 
a messenger to-night for the check.” 

“ Can’t we have the messenger followed? ” 

[185] 


Patty’s Romance 

44 He said he would know it if we did, and 
that would bode harm to Patty.” 

44 Then don’t try it. Do as he tells you. But 
there’s no hurry. It isn’t eleven yet, you needn’t 
go to the bank till afternoon.” 

“ No, I suppose not. Here comes Van Reypen. 
Hello, Phil, — come in.” 

The young man entered the library, and asked 
the news. Mr. Fairfield told of the telephon- 
ing that had just taken place.” 

“You heard her!” exclaimed Phil. “You 
heard Patty’s voice?” 

“Yes; clearly. But she was incoherent.” 

“Patty incoherent? Are you sure? It isn’t 
like her. I suppose she’d be alert to tell us 
something of where she is.” 

“ The man, Grim, he calls himself, warned me 
that Patty would say only what he told her. In- 
deed, I think Patty did not hear me at all. He 
held the receiver.” 

“ Tell me every word she said, won’t you, 
please. Can you remember? ” 

“ Indeed I can ! She said, 4 Daddy, this is 
Patty,’ and then she seemed to get sort of de- 
lirious or something like that, for she babbled 
meaningless words. She said, 4 Fill butter and 
eggs, fill butter and eggs,’ over and over. I 
[1*6] 


Philip Understands 

think they took the telephone away from her 
then.” 

Van Reypen stared. He thought hard, and 
then he shouted, “ Oh, oh! I do believe that’s 
it! Ido! I do!” 

“ What is it? ” cried Nan. “ Does it mean 
something to you? ” 

“ Oh, I hope so ! I can’t help thinking so ! 
But I hate to rouse your hopes with what may 
not be the true theory. But are you sure she 
said ‘Phil’?” 

“ Yes, but I don’t think she meant you. I 
think she meant the word fill.” 

“ Well, I don’t! I think she meant me. Oh, 
Patty wouldn’t go to pieces at such a crisis! 
She’d make the most of her chance, and by 
Jiminy ! she has! ” 

“ Do tell me what you mean,” and Mr. Fair- 
field spoke so earnestly that Van Reypen said, 
u I will tell you, but remember I may be alto- 
gether wrong. But I think this. Patty is im- 
prisoned by these men in some house, presum- 
ably in the country somewhere, and very likely 
not so awfully far from the Kenerleys’. She 
may know where she is. If so, of course, this 
telephoning was the only chance she had to dis- 
close the secret. She was forbidden to say any- 

[187] 


Patty’s Romance 

thing but what she was told. But if she pre- 
tended to be delirious or mind-wandering, she 
could say something to give us a clue, and that 
is what I think she did.” 

“ But what could ‘ butter and eggs ’ mean? ” 
said Nan, excitedly. 

“ Just this. Last winter, Patty and I went to 
get butter and eggs for Mrs. Kenerley. You 
remember the occasion? We lost our way, and 
the blizzard came on, and we stayed all night 
with those two lovely old ladies, Mrs. Fay and 
Miss Winthrop.” 

“ Oh, yes! ” cried Nan; “ I remember.” 

“ Well, that was in a lonely and sparsely set- 
tled locality, and I believe the house where 
Patty is, is near there, and she took the chance 
of my catching on. She couldn’t say anything 
those men could understand, so she said that, 
and pretended she was babbling unconsciously.” 

“ Oh, if that could be true! ” and Nan clasped 
her hands in an agony of hope. 

“ What do you think, Mr. Fairfield?” and 
Van Reypen waited anxiously for the reply. 

“ It may be. It seems almost impossible, but 
if Patty knew it was her only chance, and was 
prepared for it, it is a clue. Now that I think 
of it, her voice was strong and clear, even loud; 
[iB8] 


Philip Understands 

and when she said that sentence over and over, 
it sounded senseless, but she did not sound de- 
lirious. I concluded that she must be, because I 
couldn’t understand the words otherwise, and 
too, because I heard some one say, — I 
thought, — ‘ she has fainted.’ Of course, I sup- 
posed she had, but I dared not refer to it, lest 
I lose my chance of going on with the plans for 
her return.” 

“ I believe her fainting was all a pretence, and 
that she felt sure you would tell me this, and I 
would guess at the truth. You’re sure she said 
Phil? because if she didn’t the whole theory is 
worthless. Butter and eggs would be senseless 
babble, unless addressed to me. For no one 
else would connect it with that trip after butter 
and eggs. We’ve often talked about it since, 
and we always call it our butter and egg adven- 
ture.” 

“ It must be so,” and Nan nodded her head, 
vigorously. “ I’m sure she said, Phil, for Fred 
repeated the whole conversation as soon as he 
hung up the receiver. What can we do?” 

“ I propose to start at once,” and Van Rey- 
pen’s handsome face glowed with eagerness. 
“ Even if I am all wrong, there can be no harm 
done. I can’t think Patty is in that house, of 
[ 189 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

course, but I do think she has learned that she 
is somewhere near there. Now, if we take 
motor-cars, — I mean, take the police in on this 
thing, and go up in that section, I believe we can 
track the villains down and rescue Patty at 
once.” 

“ Oh, I hope so! ” and Mr. Fairfield bright- 
ened at the thought. “ But I am so afraid that 
if you let the police move in the matter, it will 
work harm, somehow.” 

“ You bet it will ! It will work harm to those 
dastardly kidnappers ! I can hardly wait to get 
off! You give me permission, don’t you, Mr. 
Fairfield, to use my own discretion in it all? ” 

“Absolutely, my boy! Go, and God be with 
you. I daren’t move except as they tell me, but 
you are free to act as you think best.” 

“ As to the money, suppose you temporise. 
Don’t put it in the station to-day, — wait till to- 
morrow.” 

“ No, I can’t consent to that. I have prom- 
ised to do it to-day.” 

“ Well, go ahead, then, but if we meet with 
any sort of success I’ll let you know, and in that 
case don’t give up the check to the messenger 
who comes for it.” 

“ What are your exact plans? ” asked Nan. 

[ 190] 


Philip Understands 

“ I don’t know yet,” replied Phil. “ I shall 
confer with the police and their detectives, and 
do as they advise as to details. But scour that 
part of the country, I sure shall ! Oh, our Patty 
is a smart one ! To think of her concocting that 
scheme in her clever little noddle! For the 
more I think it over, the more sure I am. Phil, 
butter and eggs, Phil, butter and eggs; oh, yes, 
you little darling, you did quite right to think I 
would understand. Phil will find you all right ! 
Why, it must be true ! If she were delirious, 
she wouldn’t say a thing that is so evidently a 
description of her present location. If she had 
really babbled nonsense it would have been utter 
nonsense. Not a clear and concise direction 
where to find her, but which was absolutely unin- 
telligible to her listeners. I’ve got a strong 
hunch that I’m on the right track, and if I am, — 
well! Mr. Kidnapper will find himself up 
against a whole heap of trouble ! ” 

With further admonitions to the Fairfields to 
keep up hope, and to say nothing to any one 
of this new plan, Van Reypen went away. 

“ Blessed little golden-head! ” he said to him- 
self. “ To think of her turning to me for help. 
Well, she couldn’t find a more ‘ willing worker ’ ! 
There’ll be something doing pretty soon, now ! ” 
[ I9i ] 


Patty’s Romance 

Van Reypen went to the police headquarters 
and told his story. It impressed his hearers as 
a possibility if not a probability. But they were 
willing to try it, and two swift motor-cars set 
out, bearing Phil and several of the policemen 
and detectives who were to help him. They 
were armed, as it was uncertain how the ven- 
ture would develop. 

They did not stop at Fern Falls, but went by 
a roundabout road, and with the two cars well 
separated, to the direction of the Fay house. 

The two good old ladies were delighted to 
see Philip again. 

As he was using every discretion possible he 
did not tell them of Patty’s disappearance, but 
acted as if he, with a few friends, had stopped 
to call. 

“ And how is Miss Fairfield? ” said Mrs. Fay, 
after she had greeted him.* 

“ Very well, I trust,” said Van Reypen. “ I 
haven’t seen her for a few days. Now, Mrs. 
Fay, I’m here on business, — a sort of private 
matter. Won’t you tell me who are your near- 
est neighbours? ” 

“ Why, bless your heart, sir, we haven’t any 
neighbours.” 

“ Well, we’re not sure as to that,” added Miss 

[ 192 ] 


Philip Understands 

Winthrop. “ You see, the only house near here 
at all is over that way, you can’t see it very 
plainly. It’s been empty for years, but a day or 
so ago sister thought she saw signs of some one 
living there.” 

“ What sort of signs? ” and Phil’s heart beat 
faster. 

“ Well, we saw smoke coming from the chim- 
ney, early one morning. And twice we thought 
we saw men in a motor-car coming there about 
dusk. But it was too dark to be sure. I hope 
some one nice has taken it, we’d be glad of good 
neighbours.” 

“ It may be those are the people I’m looking 
for,” and Van Reypen gazed toward the house 
where Patty might even now be suffering. 
“Are there no other houses near at all?” 

“ None that we can see. Twelve miles east is 
Hatton’s Corners, but that’s quite a settlement. 
There are no other country houses near here.” 

“ Here’s the point, Mrs. Fay. Is there any 
other house from which this house of yours can 
be seen? Never mind whether you can see it, 
or not.” 

“ Why, no, sir. I am sure there isn’t. Not 
another one.” 

“ Then perhaps that’s the one,” and Philip 
[ 193 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

tried to speak carelessly. “ Who is the agent? ” 

“ I don’t know as anybody is, that is, nobody 
around here. It’s part of the old Hall estate, 
and it’s so out of repair nobody wants to live 
in it.” 

After some further conversation on other sub- 
jects, Philip took leave of the old ladies, and 
the men in the two motor-cars stealthily slid into 
the deepest part of a nearby bit of woods to 
plan. 

It was finally decided that Van Reypen and 
one of the detectives should go to the house, 
to reconnoitre, pretending that they were tour- 
ists who had lost their way. Thus they hoped 
to learn if there were any grounds for their 
hopes. 

So it was about six o’clock when the car 
stopped at the door of the old and weather- 
beaten house. 

Van Reypen jumped out and boldly rang at 
the front doorbell. Or, rather, tried to, for the 
broken bell-pull gave no response to his effort. 
Then he knocked, loudly, and after a moment, a 
woman opened the door. 

“What do you want?” she asked in an un- 
civil way. 

“Which is the road to Hatton’s Corners?” 

[ 194 ] 


Philip Understands 

asked Philip, as he furtively scrutinised every- 
thing he could see. 

“ Over that way,” said Cora, for it was she, 
pointing toward the east. 

“ How far is it? ” 

“ Well, it’s a good twelve miles, I should say.” 

“ As far as that? I doubt we can make it to- 
night, then, as my car needs a going over. 
Could you put us up for to-night, my friend out 
there and myself? I’d pay you well.” 

“ No, I couldn’t. I’m not running a road- 
house.” 

“ No, I didn’t think you were,” and Phil 
smiled, pleasantly. “ But just as a friendly act, 
to help us out, you know. We’re in pretty bad 
plight to go on twelve miles! I know we 
couldn’t make it. Is your husband at home?” 

“ No, he ain’t. I’m alone in the house.” 

Van Reypen doubted this statement, as a strong 
odour of tobacco smoke had followed the open- 
ing of the door. 

“ Well, then, you need a protector. I assure 
you we’d make you no trouble at all. Just a 
bite to eat and a shake-down would do for us, 
and we’d be off early in the morning. And 
you’d have the price of a new gown and bonnet 
to make up for it.” 


[ 195 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ No,” and Cora began to look uneasy. “ I 
can’t take you in. There’s a farmhouse over 
there,” and she indicated the Fay house, “ they’ll 
likely take you. You can get as far as 
that.” 

“So we can. Well, you know best. Do you 
own this house, now? 

“ No.” 

“ Who does? The Hall estate? ” 

“ I don’t know.” Then at Phil’s look of sur- 
prise, she added, “ My husband attends to 
renting and all such business. I don’t know 
who he rents it from.” 

“Well, that’s just the point. You see, I’ve 
been told about it as a house that could be 
fixed up for a pretty good summer place. And 
as I was up this way, I thought I’d look at it. 
And as we want a place to stay over night I 
hoped to stay here, and then I could judge if 
I want to buy it.” 

“ Well, you can’t see it to-night. Come back 
here next week.” 

She attempted to shut the door, but Philip de- 
tained her. He was not rude ; on the contrary, 
he was exceedingly polite, but he was also de- 
termined. “Wait a minute,” he said, quietly; 
“ surely you can’t object to giving me your 
[196] 


Philip Understands 

name and post-office address, so I can write you 
if I decide to buy the house.” 

Cora was frightened. She hesitated and 
stammered, and then she tried again to shut 
the door. But Van Reypen placed his foot 
against it, and then Cora screamed. This was 
what Phil had wanted, for it brought Reddy to 
the door. 

“ Oh, good-evening,” said Phil, casually. 
“ The lady said her husband was not at home, 
but Pm glad there is a man on the premises, 
for I want to talk a little business.” 

“Not to-night,” returned Reddy, gruffly; 
“ come around to-morrow.” 

“ All right,” said Philip, easily; “ at what time 
may I see you? ” 

“ To-morrow afternoon, about four o’clock.” 

“ All right, I’ll be on hand. It’s about buying 
the house.” 

“ I don’t own it.” 

“ I know it, but you’re occupying it, and you 
could show me through before I close with the 
agent. I say, let me take a run over it now. 
I just want to see the number of rooms and the 
condition of them.” 

“ Can’t do it. My wife’s mother is pretty 
sick upstairs, and we can’t disturb her.” 

[ 197 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Oh, in that case, of course I won’t intrude. 
Good-night, and I hope the old lady will get 
better.” 

Van Reypen returned to his car, and looking 
neither to right nor left got in and drove away. 
As he rounded the house, however, he heard a 
crash, and from a third-story window a large 
crockery pitcher fell and broke into a hundred 
pieces. A quick glance upward showed Philip 
Patty’s face at the window, but he gave her not 
even a glance of recognition and flew on. 

“ That’s she ! ” he whispered to the man at 
his side. “I saw her clearly! I didn’t dare 
let her see me look up, lest they were watch- 
ing and might harm her. Now, for work! 
Get the men together ! ” 

The men were waiting, and at the word they 
filled the two cars, and went nearly to the house. 
They all got out, and stealthily advanced on 
foot. 

Then exciting scenes followed. Two burly 
policemen went in at the front door, closely 
followed by two more. It took four of them to 
hold down the two kidnappers, for though 
Reddy was big and strong Jack was lithe and 
active, and it was some time before the two 
were disarmed and bound. 

[198] 


Philip Understands 

Two of the detectives held Cora captive, while 
Philip dashed up the stairs in search of Patty. 

And found her ! 

She heard the commotion below, and she knew 
help had come. She was on the stairs, though 
fearful lest her captors had not been taken. 
But she could not remain in her room, and so, 
when she heard a fumbling at the door at the 
foot of the stairs, she called out, “ Unbolt it at 
the top ! ” 

She had learned this from listening to the re- 
peated locking-in she had undergone, and she 
was glad to help whoever was trying to open it. 

She knew it could be none of her three cus- 
todians, for they knew how to manage the lock. 

And when the door flew open and she saw 
Philip, big, strong, and splendid, she just fell 
into his arms, calico wrapper and all. 

“ My darling ! My precious Patty ! ” he cried, 
breathing heavily, as he clasped her to him in 
his joy at finding her. “ Oh, is it really you? ” 

“ It is! It is! ” and Patty clung to him as if 
afraid he was not real. “ Oh, Phil, did you 
come on account of the ‘ butter and eggs ’? ” 

“ Of course I did! You clever, clever girl to 
think of such a scheme and carry it out! ” 

“ Did you understand at once? t Tell me all 
[ 199 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

about it. How is father — and Nan? And 
everybody? ” 

Patty was getting hysterical, far more so now 
that she was saved, than when she was really 
in danger. 

“ Not another word now! ” and Philip picked 
her up and carried her out to the waiting car. 

“ Where to, sir? ” said the detective, who was 
already at the wheel. 

Van Reypen considered. “ We can’t go to 
New York to-night very well, Patty,” he said; 
“ shall we go to Fern Falls? ” 

“ Yes,” said Patty, who sat in the tonneau, 
with the robes tucked round her. “ Anywhere 
you say. Can you telephone father?” 

“ Yes, the first place we come to. They’ll 
come right up. Go on, Briggs.” 

Philip sprang in beside Patty, and away they 
went, back over the same road she had 
travelled, unconsciously, on the night of her 
birthday. 


[ 200 ] 


CHAPTER XIV 


HOME AGAIN 

P ATTY had no hat nor veil. Her hair 
hung in its long, single braid, as she had 
worn it all the four dreadful days she 
had been away. Nor had she any motor-coat, 
but Phil wrapped the light cloth dust-robe round 
her, and she declared herself perfectly com- 
fortable. 

They talked little, for, though Patty wanted 
to chatter, Phil detected the high-strung ten- 
sion of her nerves in her voice, and feared 
that the glad reaction of being rescued would 
tend to make her hysterical. 

“Wait till we get there,” he said. “You’ll 
have to tell the whole story then, so don’t exert 
yourself too much now. Rest quietly here with 
me, and be fresh for the gay home-coming.” 

“How good you are, Philip,” and Patty 
smiled at him from the corner of the seat, 
where she was enveloped in the lap-robes. 

“And, please let me ” but she scarce knew 

how to say what she wanted to. 

[ 201 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Let you express your gratitude in a few well- 
chosen words! Not on your life! You get 
home, and tell everybody all about it, and ac- 
cept all their welcomes and congratulations and 
everything of that sort, and then, after that’s 
all over, give me a chapter of thanks all to my- 
self. Not that I care for medals to pin on me, 
but, I want to hear you say that you’re „glad it 
was / who brought you back from the jaws of — 
what is that woman’s name? She isn’t very 
good to look at.” 

“ Cora. And you mustn’t say anything against 
her. She was awfully good to me. And if it 
hadn’t been for her husband, the big man, she 
would have helped me to get away. Oh, Cora 
was kind, and I’m not going to have her per- 
secuted or prosecuted, or whatever you call 
it.” 

“ I’ll tell you one thing straight, my lady, 
you’re never going to know what happens to 
any of those people. You’ve played your part 
in this great act, and now you’re oh the stage 
for keeps. Not a word of the other char- 
acters shall ever reach your ears.” 

“ I’d like that. I’d hate to know it, if those 
men are imprisoned, — or however they punish 
kidnappers. But, unless you promise me that 
[ 202 ] 


Home Again 

Cora is leniently dealt with, I’ll go to the judge 
myself and tell him how good she was to me.” 

“ I’ll look after it, dear. Not now, but in a 
day or two, you shall tell me all about it, and 
I’ll see that the woman is rewarded for any 
kindness she showed to you. Oh, Patty, it 
might have been much worse ! ” 

“ Indeed it might. Suppose Cora had been 
ugly, or — suppose, oh, Phil, suppose I hadn’t 
recognised that house ! And I didn’t, at first.” 

“ I don’t see how you did, anyway. You’re a 
marvel, Patty, that’s what you are, and it’s 
your own cleverness and ingenuity that saved 
you.” 

“ And you.” Patty flashed him a smile. 
“ Just think, Phil, this is the same road we 
travelled going home from the Fay house, last 
winter. Remember the deep snow-drifts ! ” 

“ Rather ! This is better going, isn’t it? Now 
we’re near Barclay Inn. History repeats itself, 
as we get out there to telephone, just as we did 
the other trip. But this time you needn’t get 
out.” 

“ In this rig! I should say not! Did you ob- 
serve this calico garment, Phil?” 

“ I did not! When I saw your face, I didn’t 
know whether you wore satin and pearls or 
[ 203 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

point lace and diamonds. It was you, and noth- 
ing else mattered! ” 

“ Well, here we are. Are you going to tele- 
phone father and Nan from here?” 

“Yes; and Briggs is going to telephone his 
police playmates and so forth. I think, Patty, 
we’ll leave him here, as he wants to get back to 
New York, and we’ll go on to Adele’s by our- 
selves.” 

“ All right, just as you think best,” and Patty 
hid herself in the robes as the two men got out. 

Soon Philip returned, saying he had talked 
with Mr. Fairfield, and he and Nan would start 
at once for Fern Falls. 

“ I didn’t tell the Kenerleys,” he went on, 
“ for we’ll be there in a short time, now, and I 
thought it would be fun to surprise them.” 

“ What time is it? ” asked Patty. “ I haven’t 
known for about a week! ” 

“ It’s nearly nine. Your people can’t get up 
here before midnight, but they would come.” 

“ Of course they would ! They’ve got to see 
for themselves that I am really I, as I sup- 
pose I be.” 

“ Sure ! Now, you stay back there, all comfy, 
and I’ll be the man at the wheel, and we’ll just 
break the record and all the speed laws! ” 
[204] 


Home Again 

Patty nestled in her corner, and Phil drove the 
car at high speed along the smooth and beauti- 
ful state road. In less than an hour they turned 
in at Adele’s gateway, and Van Reypen gave a 
succession of wild whoops that were intelligible 
if ear-splitting to the little group on the 
veranda. 

“Whoo-ee! Hur-ray! WHOO-EE!! HUR- 
RAY ! ! ” he shouted, and Hal Ferris sprang 
up with a yell of joy as the car whizzed up to 
the steps. 

“ Patty ! ” cried Adele, as the golden head rose 
out of the flung-aside robes, and the piazza 
lights, which Jim switched on full, showed a 
laughing face above a strange-looking costume. 

With a simultaneous dash, Jim and Hal 
jumped down the steps, and lifted the girl from 
the car. They carried her bodily in their 
strong arms and deposited her on the settee be- 
side Adele, who was too surprised to move. 
Then Daisy and Mona enveloped her, and 
sounds of affectionate joy were inarticulate but 
emphatic. 

“ Oh, Patty! ” seemed to be the favourite ex- 
clamation, alternating with, “ Tell us all about 
it! ” and “ Are you really here?” 

Patty laughed and cried and talked, all at 
[205 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

once, till Philip said, “ Don’t you think we 
ought to give the little girl some supper and 
send her to bed? She’s pretty well tired out.” 

“ No, sir-ee ! ” cried Patty; “ no bed for me, 
yet a while ! I’m starved for something good to 
eat, and, wow ! how I want a decent frock ! but 
I don’t want to go to bed! That’s been my 
chief occupation for four days, — and I’m tired 
of it ! Come on, girls, help me find a costume 
more becoming to my peculiar type. But, first, 
people, look at this, so you’ll appreciate the 
difference ! ” 

Patty broke away from the embraces of Adele 
and the girls, and stood under the light. 

The picture was ludicrous. The hideous calico 
wrapper, badly cut and ill-shaped, and the 
coarse shoes were so incongruous to Patty’s 
dainty beauty that they all laughed. All but 
Phil Van Reypen. He turned away as if from 
a painful sight. 

u It’s sacrilege! ” he said. “ Take her away, 
quick, and fix her up.” 

So the laughing group hurried to Patty’s room 
to assist her toilette. Dismissing the maid, 
Daisy ran a hot bath, while Mona selected 
filmy lingerie, and Adele chose a gown. 

Shrieks of merriment greeted Patty’s petti- 
[ 206 ] 


Home Again 

coats as she exhibited them to the interested 
girls. 

“It’s outrageous!” declared Mona, holding 
up the coarse, cheap garments. “ To think of 
our Patty in these things ! ” 

“ Oh, pooh! ” said Patty; “ it was horrid, of 
course; but I tell you, when you’re kidnapped, 
you’re so lonesome that you don’t even care 
what kind of clothes you have ! ” 

“ You poor little thing! ” and Daisy kissed her 
for the thousandth time. 

In little more than half an hour, a restored 
Patty went downstairs. The golden curls were 
twisted up in a shining mass and Patty’s lovely 
face and soft, fair throat emerged from one 
of her prettiest tea-gowns. 

“Not a regular frock,” Adele had decreed; 
“ you’re tired, and you can slip into this lacy, 
Frenchy thing, with ease.” 

So the pale blue crepe de chine , with its flutter- 
ing chiffon sleeves and trailing knots of lace and 
ribbon, was the greatest conceivable contrast to 
the fearsome garment she had worn home. 

Happiness beamed from Patty’s face as she 
came down to the waiting group in the hall. 
Her pink cheeks were flushed with joy and her 
blue eyes shone with a deep content. 

[ 207 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Oh, I’m so glad to be here ! ” she cried; and 
then, going straight to Van Reypen, she held 
out both hands to him, and said, fervently, 
“ Thank you, Philip.” 

His glance met hers for a moment, and then 
he lifted the little roseleaf hands and kissed 
them gently. 

“ And now,” and Patty danced up to Jim, 
“ I’m starved for the sort of food you pro- 
vide.” 

“ You shall have it! ” and Jim led her to the 
dining-room and they all followed. 

A delightful supper was on the table, and as 
Patty looked at the golden-brown croquettes 
and caviare sandwiches, the elaborate salads, 
the great red strawberries, and the little iced 
cakes, her contentment fairly shone from her 
eyes. 

“ Oh,” she cried, “ I shall eat every bit of 
everything on the table, just because it’s so 
lovely! And I shall eat the silver and glass, 
too, and the lace centrepiece! I haven’t seen 
these things for so long ! My, but it’s good to 
be back here ! ” 

“ Maybe it isn’t good to have you ! ” exclaimed 
Jim, as he carefully selected portions for her 
plate. “ What did you get to eat, girlie? ” 

[ 208 ] 


Home Again 

“Codfish,” said Patty, making a wry face; 
“ and chunks of meat, and slabs of pie ! Oh, it 
was fierce! Excuse my French, — but no other 
word describes the cuisine at the Hotel 
Reddy!” 

“ It was all of that! ” agreed Hal, heartily. 
“ How did you ever stand it? ” 

“ The food was like the clothes. I was so 
busy with my grief and rage at being there at 
all, that I didn’t so much mind the details. But 
the days were very long, and, oh, — the nights 
were a thousand times longer ! ” 

“Poor little Patty!” said nearly everybody 
present, while Van Reypen looked at her in 
silence, his eyes filled with pain. 

“ But it’s all over now,” and Patty smiled, 
gaily; “ and we’re not to be gloomy over what’s 
past.” 

“ No, indeed, we can’t be gloomy now that we 
have you back,” and Adele gazed at her fondly. 
“ Oh, Patty, you don’t know what I’ve suf- 
fered ! ” 

“ Yes, I do, Adele, dear. I know all you felt 
about responsibility and all that, and I was 
fearfully sorry for you. But cheer up, you’ve 
got me again, and no harm done.” 

Later, the Fairfields arrived. Patty flew to 
[ 209 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

their welcoming arms, and there were more 
tears and kisses and general rejoicing. 

Then, sitting on her father’s knee, as he oc- 
cupied a great easy-chair, she told the whole 
story in a straight and connected but concise 
way. She was not nervous or excited now. She 
was calm and happy, and with her head against 
her father’s shoulder, she smiled as she re- 
counted her adventures. 

But Frederick Fairfield did not smile, except 
now and then in loving appreciation of Patty’s 
caresses, and his stern face boded ill for the 
kidnappers, who, as he knew, were already be- 
hind bars. 

He held Patty closer, as she told of her inter- 
view with the two bad men, when they com- 
manded her to telephone. 

“ I had to think quickly,” she said; “ I knew if 
I said anything except what they told me, they 
would punish me ia some dreadful way. Then 
it just happened to occur to me that I might pre- 
tend I was wandering in my mind. So I did. 
And it came to me, that the only way to give 
an inkling of where I was would be to let Phil 
know that I was near that house we went to. 
But of course, if I said the Fay house, the men 
would catch on. So I babbled butter and eggs, 
[ 210] 


Home Again 

and Phil’s name, hoping it would sound like 
foolish chatter. And it did, to the men, but I 
think Cora suspected I was not so luny as I 
pretended. Still, I acted so sleepy and queer 
when she took me back to my room, that I 
guess she thought I was delirious or some such 
thing. Well, then I just waited . Oh, the long- 
ness of that day! Why, it was to-day! It 
seems a week ago ! Well, after I said that on 
the telephone, I nearly did go really crazy won- 
dering if the message would ever get to Phil. I 
feared father might think I was saying that at 
the men’s dictation, just so he could recognise 
my voice, and he might never think to mention 
the foolish words to Phil. But he did! ” 

Patty leaned back in her father’s arms with 
a deep sigh of content, and her lovely eyes 
beamed with quiet joy at her safety. 

“ It was a narrow squeak! ” exclaimed Van 
Reypen. “ By mere chance I happened in just 
as Mr. Fairfield had that message, and other- 
wise those words might have faded from his 
memory as being of no importance.” 

“ And I would have been there yet!” and 
Patty made a wry face. “ But you were going 
to ransom me out, weren’t you, daddy? ” 

“Yes, dear, if I could. But the police were 
[ 211 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

making it difficult for me to do that, — well, 
never mind about those things, darling, you’re 
here, and forget all else.” 

“ Well, then,” and Patty resumed her nar- 
rative, “ I waited and waited, about a thou- 
sand years, and then I heard somebody come in 
a car. I could see the car, and a strange man 
in it, but I didn’t know who was in the house. 
Then I watched, and when the car went away, 
I recognised Phil! I wanted to yell at him, 
but the windows on that side of the house were 
all nailed down! I was nearly frantic, and I 
grabbed up my big water-pitcher, and banged it 
straight through the glass! Phil glanced up, 
but he went right on. I knew, I was positive, 
that he saw me, and that it was all right some- 
how, but, oh, it was awful to see him going 
away! ” 

“ Maybe it wasn’t awful for me, too,” said 
Van Reypen, “ to go away without even waving 
my hand at you ! But I thought better not to 
let those brutes know I saw you. I got back as 
quick as I could.” 

“ You were wonderful, Philip,” and Patty’s 
eyes glowed into his. “ Daddy, you don’t know 
how wonderful Phil was ! ” 

“Indeed he was, dear! He saved my little 
[ 212 ] 


Home Again 

girl and brought her back to me ! I shall never 
forget it! ” 

“ No, neither shall I,” and Patty went on. 
“ Then, I waited another thousand years. I 
thought Cora would come up, but she didn’t.” 

“ They were trying to get away,” said Van 
Reypen. “ They tried various ways to elude 
us, and make a getaway, but they didn’t suc- 
ceed.” 

“ Then I heard a terrible racket downstairs. 
I was on the third floor, you know, and I looked 
out and saw two motors, and some policemen, 
and I knew then it was all right. But I didn’t 
know Phil was there. I heard a shaking of the 
lock of the stair door, and I called out to unbolt 
it at the top, — Cora did that, — and — the next 
thing I knew, there was my noble knight! my 
gallant rescuer! ” 


[ 213 ] 


CHAPTER XV 


AT THE SEASHORE 

T HE Fairfields spent June at their summer 
home down on the New Jersey shore. 
Patty liked it there, but it was a hot 
summer and there was not an ocean breeze 
every day. 

The social life was gay and strenuous, and 
early in July Nan declared that Patty needed 
a change to more bracing air. 

“ You look limp,” she said, as Patty lolled in 
a veranda chair, and announced her intention of 
staying home from a garden party. 

“ I feel like a limpet,” returned Patty. “ Isn’t 
that the silly, inane thing that clings to an old 
rock? ” 

“ Yes, and finally falls off into the sea.” 

“ I don’t mind falling into the sea, but I’d 
never get back on the rock again. I’m dolce 
far niente, Nan.” 

“ What in the world does that mean? ” 

“ Well, it means either sweet to do nothing, 
or good for nothing, I forget which.” 

[214] 


At the Seashore 

“ You’re too sweet to do nothing, so I wish 
you’d get at something. You sit around like 
a lost chord.” 

“ I know it, and I’m too lazy to care.” Patty 
put her feet up on another chair, and twirled 
her garden hat by its long ribbons. 

“ You’re not lazy, dear, I know better than 
that. But you are run down.” 

“ Oh, am I? And how shall I run up? ” 

“You needn’t talk rubbish! You need a 
change, and you’re going to get it. Would 
you like to go to the mountains ? ” 

“ Not in July. Nobody goes till August. 
Honestly, Nan, I’m all right.” 

“ Then why don’t you go to the garden 
party? ” 

“ Oh, ’cause I think I’d better stay home and 
read and improve my mind. It’s terribly in 
need of improvement, — truly it is.” 

Patty fanned herself listlessly, and looked very 
sweet, but languid and tired. As a matter of 
fact, the awful experience she went through 
when she was kidnapped had been a severe 
shock to her nervous system. She hadn’t slept 
well since, and the sea air did not seem to re- 
vive or brace her as it should have done. Her 
father and Nan had discussed the matter and 

1 215 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

had practically decided Patty must go away. 
But definite plans had not yet been made. 

“ Who’s coming? ” said Patty, looking up to 
see a motor entering their gate. “ Well, well,” 
she exclaimed, jumping up, “ if it isn’t Mrs. 
Van Reypen! How do you do, dear lady? ” 

“ Sit down,” said Nan, as she drew forward 
a comfortable chair. “ How delightful to see 
you ! I didn’t know you were down at the 
Beach.” 

“ Just came down this morning,” said Mrs. 
Van Reypen, as she seated herself. “ How are 
you both? Patty, child, you look wilted.” 

“ It’s the weather,” said Patty, smiling; “ it’s 
so damp and muggy to-day. I was going to a 
party, but when this fog rolls in from the sea it 
spoils all one’s best clothes. And I’m glad I 
didn’t go, since you came. Where are you 
staying? Is Phil with you?” 

“ I’m over at the Hotel. No, Philip didn’t 
come down with me, I’m alone. Now, I’ll tell 
you the reason for this sudden appearance. I 
want to take a motor-trip up through the New 
England summer places, White Mountains, 
Green Mountains, — any colour. And I want 
Patty to go with me.” 

“ How lovely! ” cried Nan. “ The very thing 
[2i 6] 


At the Seashore 

we’ve been wanting for her! Mrs. Van Rey- 
pen, you’re an angel ! ” 

“ Not yet, not yet; some day, maybe. But I’d 
love to have Patty with me, if she’ll go.” 

“ As your companion? ” and Patty smiled, re- 
membering the time she had been Mrs. Van 
Reypen’s paid companion for one long week. 

“ As my honoured guest and beloved com- 
panion,” returned the old lady, who idolised 
pretty Patty, and had great hopes of an alliance 
between the girl and her nephew. 

Patty knew this, and for that reason she hesi- 
tated about accepting the pleasant invitation. 

“Are you taking a party?” she asked, cas- 
ually. 

“ No; only Philip and myself. I can chaperon 
you two youngsters, and you and I can enter- 
tain each other when the boy wants to go off 
fishing or hunting. For I don’t mean to make 
a rushing trip, but to stay a week or two at 
each place, if we like it.” 

“ It would be a lovely trip,” Patty said, “ but, 
Mrs. Van Reypen, I don’t believe I’d better go. 
I might be a care to you in many ways.” 

“ Nonsense, child, you couldn’t make me any 
trouble. You won’t get sick, I’m taking you 
to make you strong and well. The mountain 
[217 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

air and the exercise will do that, I know. Nor 
will I be a care to you, for J shall take my maid, 
and our chauffeur is a courier of himself. 
We’ll go as slowly or as rapidly as we like, and 
stop where and how long we choose. So say 
you’ll go, and tell me how soon you can get off.” 

“But I needn’t decide now, need I? For I 
want to talk to father about it first. And it’s 
pretty sudden. I want a little time to think it 
over. How long are you staying here, Mrs. 
Van Reypen?” 

“A few days. As long as I enjoy it here, 
which won’t be very long, for I don’t like sea 
damp. Philip will be here to-night. Perhaps 
he can persuade you better than I can.” 

“ No,” and Patty smiled at the idea. 44 If I 
go, it will be because you have asked me. And 
it is most kind of you.” 

“ Indeed it is,” agreed Nan; 44 and I do hope 
Patty will go. Why, it’s providential ! I know 
her father will be delighted to hear of it.” 

And Mr. Fairfield was delighted. When he 
came home he expressed great favour for the 
plan, and urged Patty to improve her oppor- 
tunity. 

But Patricia would not commit herself. 

“ I dunno if I want to go, daddy,” she said, 
[2iS] 


At the Seashore 

caressing his hand, as they sat on the veranda 
that evening. “ You see it’s a long, long way 
to all those Tipperarys that Mrs. Van wants to 
visit. I ’spects I’d get all tired up.” 

“ No, you wouldn’t. You’d gain strength 
every day. You’re not going into a decline yet, 
you know,” and he pinched her arm. “ All you 
want is good mountain air, and a little let-up 
from your everlasting parties. So, you just take 
my advice and say to the lady, ‘ yes, and thank 
you kindly.’ ” 

“ Here comes Phil,” said Patty, as some one 
came in at the gate; “something tells me he, 
too, will favour my going.” 

Nan laughed at this very obvious presenti- 
ment, and Phil came up the steps. “ Hello, 
people, dear! How’s everybody? How do, 
Mrs. Fairfield? Top o’ the mornin’, guv’nor! 
And how’s Little Peaches? ” 

He leaned over to look in Patty’s face, and 
she gave him a smile of welcome. 

Van Reypen perched himself on the veranda 
railing, lighted a cigar Mr. Fairfield offered 
him, and sat for a few moments in silence. 
Then he broke out, unexpectedly, “ Crazy no- 
tion of Aunty Van’s to go on a month’s motor 
trip ! What do you think of it, Pattibelle? ” 

[ 219 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Dunno,” returned Patty, uncommittally ; 
“ ask the rest.” 

“Perfectly grand!” volunteered Nan. “I 
don’t know but Fred and I will come up and 
join you later in the season. 

“ We haven’t started yet, ma’am. How does 
it strike you, governor?” 

Phil had adopted this informal title for Mr. 
Fairfield, and the elder man liked it. 

“ Just as Patty poppet says, of course. But it 
sounds all round good to me. It’s awfully kind 
of your aunt, I think.” 

“ It is that ! To take us two youngsters along, 
when she might go and have a good time all by 
herself ! ” 

Patty laughed out, at the idea of Mrs. Van 
Reypen going on the trip alone, for she was a 
lady who hated solitude, and nearly always had 
guests. 

“ Why the loud grins, fair maid? ” and Phil 
looked at her, quizzically. 

“ Walk down to the beach with me and I’ll tell 
you.” Patty rose slowly, picked up a light wrap 
which she handed to Phil, and throwing away 
his cigar, the young man sprang to go with her. 

“ Back soon; don’t wait up for us,” he called 
out to the others. 


[ 220 ] 


At the Seashore 

“ Back in ten minutes,” amended Patty, and 
the two walked away. 

“ She’s a puzzle,” said Nan, as they passed 
out of sight. “ She likes him a lot, yet she 
won’t admit it.” 

“ He worships the ground she walks on,” 
observed Mr. Fairfield, in time-honoured meta- 
phor. 

“ Yes, I know it. But she vows she 
won’t think of lovers or marriage for years 
yet.” 

“ But Patty is twenty, that’s not so terribly 
young.” 

“ I know, but Patty isn’t really as old as that. 
She is, in years, of course, but she feels and 
acts two or three years younger.” 

“ Yes, she does. Sometimes she’s like a mere 
child.” 

“ But an awfully sweet child. She grows 
sweeter all the time. She is a dear nature, 
Fred. I wish she would love somebody with 
all that big heart of hers.” 

Meantime, the big-hearted girl was scolding 
Philip roundly. 

“ You put her up to it ! You know you did ! ” 
she was saying. “ You made your aunt invite 
me!” 


[ 221 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Yes’m, but she was awful easy made, — oh, 
awful easy made ! ” 

“ Don’t be silly! Why did you do it? ” 

“ ’Cause I wanted you to go.” 

“ There’s more reason than that. What was 
it?” 

“ That’s the biggest reason in the world. 
Couldn’t be a bigger one ! No, ma’am, — there 
just couldn’t ! ” 

“ Well, another, then. You got her to ask 
me to go, because you think I’m ill ! ” 

“No, ma’am; oh, no, ma’am!” and Phil 
rolled his eyes idiotically. 

“ You did, too ! Now stop being foolish — — ” 

“ Yes, ma’am, with pleasure, ma’am.” 

“ Phil, stop that nonsense ! I don’t like 
it.” 

“ Then you sha’n’t have it, Patty, dear. What 
do you want? ” 

“ I want you to stop calling me dear, or act- 
ing as if — as if ” 

“ As if I loved you? I can’t stop that, sweet- 
heart, unless I stop breathing. You know it, 
Patty, darling little girl; you know how I care 
for you, but if you don’t want me to tell you so, 
I most certainly will not. There, now will you 
smile?” 


[ 222 ] 


At the Seashore 

“ But I don’t want you to tell me so, not only 
in words but in other ways, — in actions — 
and ” 

“ Making sheep’s eyes at you? But, Pattibelle, 
I can’t help looking at you, and then, when I 
do look at you, and see your wonderful eyes 
and that dimple in the corner of your smile, I — 
why, I just want to — to keep on loving you, — 
that’s all. Don’t make me stop, please ! ” 

Phil’s voice was low and caressing, and his 
handsome face was strong and fine in the dusky 
glow of the sunset reflection. 

“ But, Phil, — oh, I hate to say it, — but how 
can I go on this trip with your aunt and you, if 
you’re going to — to — — ” 

“To bother the life out of you? Why, you 
darling child, is that troubling your dear little 
head? Well, listen, then. If you’ll go with us, 
I’ll promise not to say a word of love-making 
till we get back. How’s that? ” 

“Honest?” and Patty brightened up amaz- 
ingly. 

“ It won’t be honest, no; for I shall have to 
say all sorts of things that I don’t mean, in 
order to keep from saying things I do mean. 
But I honestly promise, and I’ll stick to it. 
There, now is it a happy, smiling little girl?” 

[ 223 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

Patty flung him a smile that set his heart 
a-quiver, but he only said, “ That’s right, look 
happy, and I’ll do anything you say. I may go 
along in the car, mayn’t I? ” 

“ Yes, after that promise. But you know it 
includes unspoken words as well as those you 
say.” 

“ I’ll probably get off some unspoken words 
that you wouldn’t care to hear! But, never 
mind, I agree to your terms. All through the 
trip, — and I believe Aunty Van has planned a 
month of it, — I’m not to let you know I love 
you by any possible means of communication. 
Unless, of course, you change your mind, and 
retract this rule.” 

“ I won’t,” and Patty shook her head, de- 
cidedly. “I don’t want to be loved, Phil; I 

don’t want to be talked to about it, and ” 

“ Then you sha’n’t! My only aim in life is to 
make you happy. I’d be a fine one, if I refused 
your first real request! No, no, little Patti- 
belle, you can depend on me for more than that. 
Now the matter is settled, can we plan for the 
trip? When do you want to start? ” 

“ I don’t care. Whenever your aunt likes. I 
can easily be ready in a week, or less.” 

“ All right. Let’s walk back by the hotel and 
[ 224 ] 


At the Seashore 


stop and tell her so, and then go and break the 
glad news to your people.” 

“ Of course, nobody goes to the mountains in 
July,” said Mrs. Van Reypen, as they talked 
it over. “ I know that, but that’s why I’m 
going. ‘ Nobody ’ doesn’t mean literally not 
any one at all, and I like it much better with 
few people in the hotels than crowds.” 

“So do I,” agreed Patty; “and, anyway, we 
have ourselves, and are not dependent on 
crowds for society. Shall I take a lot of 
clothes? ” 

“ Yes, take several of your prettiest frocks. 
I like to see you look properly dressed. Take 
all the luggage you wish, there’s plenty of room 
for dress-baskets.” 

They planned to start in less than a week, and 
as the time drew near, Patty became enthusiastic 
over the trip. She and Nan ran up to New 
York for some new motor togs and a hat or 
two. 

Patty had two complete motor suits, one, of 
sand-coloured Rajah silk, with collar and acces- 
sories of white bengaline, and a blouse of 
sheerest embroidered white muslin. The other, 
for less sunshiny days, was a very smart little 
rig of navy blue satin and emerald green velvet. 
[ 225 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

Her hats were endless, and as to veils, Nan 
declared she had a hundred ! But Patty 
laughed, and said veils used themselves up very 
quickly on a motor tour, and it was not easy to 
get any of the right kind at the summer places. 
So she packed her veils, long and short, thick 
and thin, of every colour and design, and when 
the day came to start, Patty was ready. 

The start was made from New York, and the 
Fairfields went to the city the day before, as a 
greater convenience in getting off. 

As their town house was closed, they stayed at 
a hotel, and this Patty enjoyed, as she always 
liked new scenes, and the experience of a city 
hotel in summer time was a novelty to her. 

They dined that night in the large and ornate 
dining-room of the large and ornate hotel, and 
as they were at the table, Patty saw a man 
coming toward them whose face was familiar. 
He came directly to them and held out his 
hand. 

“ Why, it’s Mr. Cromer ! ” cried Patty. 
“ How pleasant to see an old friend among all 
these strangers ! ” 

The elder Fairfields greeted the young man, 
and made him join them at their table. 

Laurence Cromer was an artist, whom Patty 
[ 226 ] 


At the Seashore 

had met the summer before at Mona’s and 
whom she had not seen since. 

“What are you doing in town?” she asked, 
and Cromer smiled. 

“ Well, do you know, I have to confess to a 
sneaking liking for the old town in summer 
time. I like the open-air restaurants and the 
roof-gardens and all that. What are you peo- 
ple doing this evening? Won’t you go to a 
summer show with me ? ” 

“ Oh, do ! ” cried Patty. “ I’ve never seen a 
roof-garden. Are they very dreadful?” 

“ Not at all, if you go to the right ones.” 

So the party was made up, and Patty gazed, 
wide-eyed, at the gorgeous spectacle she wit- 
nessed. She liked the lights and the dancing 
and the music, and she liked, too, the strange 
sensation of being high up in the open air, with 
the night sky above their heads, and the moon, 
whose shining was paled by the glow of the 
electrics. Also she enjoyed the ices and cakes 
that Mr. Cromer ordered, and she expressed 
her approval of the whole affair. 

“ I’m glad you like it,” said Cromer. “ It’s 
tawdry, and all that,— but there’s something 
about it that is, to me, very picturesque.” 

“ It is,” agreed Patty, “ but, it seems to me 
[ 227 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

strange that you should like this glare and glit- 
ter. Your tastes are so highly artistic, while 

this ” she looked about upon the 

scene. 

“ Yes, I know what you mean,” and Cromer 
smiled at her, appreciatively, “ but I’m fond of 
colour, and here is colour and form and some- 
times grace. Of course, I don’t care for it 
often, but occasionally it interests me greatly. 
Some time, Miss Fairfield, we must have a talk 
on these subjects, when we have time to thresh 
them out. Where are you going now, — for I 
take it your presence here means a trip some- 
where.” 

“You’re right,” and Patty told him of her 
projected tour. 

“And you start to-morrow? Now, let me 
see; when will you be at the White Moun- 
tains? ” 

“ It’s uncertain, but, probably, about the last of 
July.” 

“ Good ! That’s just about the time I shall be 
there ! So we’ll make an engagement to have 
a talk on the general subject of art for good- 
ness’ sake, while we’re up there.” 

Patty smilingly agreed to this, little dreaming 
that Cromer had instantaneously rearranged 
[228] 


At the Seashore 


his summer plans, in order to be at the White 
Mountain resort when she was there. 

Laurence Cromer was an artist of the type 
called soulful, and he worshipped beauty in any 
of its manifestations. When he had met Patty 
the year before, he had been greatly pleased 
with her lovely face and had sketched her many 
times. This privilege he was anxious to have 
again, and so welcomed the opportunity now 
presented. 

Patty liked the young artist, though she 
couldn’t help feeling a little amused at the 
length of his hair and the breadth of his collar, 
which, though not extreme, were unusual 
enough to show the eccentricity often ac- 
credited to the devotees of art. But he was sin- 
cere and kindly in his ways, and of a cultivated 
personality, so Patty felt sure the fastidious 
Mrs. Van Reypen would look on him with 
favour. 


[ 229 ] 


CHAPTER XVI 


ROMANCE 

“ X ’M certainly going to learn golf,” de- 
I dared Patty, in a most determined way. 

A “I vow I am!” 

“ You can’t do it,” returned Phil, who loved 
to tease her. “You haven’t the strength, the 
muscle, or the brain for it.” 

“Rudy!” and Patty flashed a reproachful 
glance at him. “ I may not have such a heap 
of brawn, but I’ve any amount of brain ! ” 

“ But not the right sort,” continued her tor- 
mentor. “ It requires more gray matter to 
play golf than most people think.” 

“ And I’ve got more than some people think ! ” 
she flung back at him and then turned to Mrs. 
Van Reypen and ignored Phil entirely. This 
punishment was received with a teasing chuckle, 
but Patty did not heed it. 

The trip was progressing wonderfully. It was 
four days since they had left New York, and 
as Mrs. Van Reypen liked to linger a day or 
[230] 


Romance 


so at any place that pleased her fancy, they were 
now just approaching Lenox 

At every hotel they had visited, Patty had seen 
the golf players, enthusiastic over their sport, 
and it made her feel a strong desire to learn 
the game. The weather had been perfect, so 
far, and the fresh air and the exhilaration of 
the trip had already made Patty’s cheek more 
rosy, and her whole outlook on life more gay 
and glad. 

The three rode always on the wide back seat 
of the big car, Patty in the middle, for Mrs. 
Van Reypen preferred an outside seat. The 
maid, Nina, rode beside the chauffeur; and 
as yet no accident of even the slightest pro- 
portions had occurred to mar their pleas- 
ure. 

Patty and Philip were the best of chums. He 
had kept his promise not to make love to her, 
but he couldn’t help showing in his eyes the 
affection he felt for her, and sometimes Patty 
wondered whether she had done quite right in 
coming on this trip with him, when she posi- 
tively did not want to encourage his attentions. 
Philip teased her a good deal, but Patty well 
knew that his gay chaff was only chaff, and it 
bothered her not a bit. 

[ 231 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ You think I have brains, don’t you, Lady 
Van? ” she asked of Mrs. Van Reypen. 

“Plenty of them, my dear; far more than is 
needed with a pretty face like yours.” 

“ But you have beauty and brains both,” and 
Patty looked with sincere admiration at the 
handsome old lady beside her. 

“What is it that you want, then, that you are 
honeying me with these compliments?” and 
the dark eyes twinkled beneath the purple 
veil. 

“ There ! ” cried Patty, triumphantly, “ you’ve 
proved your brains by seeing through me! 
Well, since you press me, I’ll own up that I 
want a full set of golf regalia, whatever it in- 
cludes. Pm going to begin to play at Lenox and 
when we reach Manchester I shall be a finished 
performer.” 

“ Sure you will ! ” put in Philip. “ You’ll have 
finished yourself and all the rest of us.” 

“What a cheerful outlook! you dear old op- 
timist! But as you are going to teach me it’s 
up to you not to let it finish me entirely. I 
feel it in my bones you’re going to be a fine 
teacher.” 

“ I am a good teacher, but a very high-priced 
one.” 

[ 232 ] 


Romance 


“You can’t scare me that way! I have your 
promise not to ask me for anything I don’t want 
to give.” 

“ That’s all right, but you’ll find the lessons ex- 
pensive all the same.” Philip smiled at her in 
an inscrutable w r ay, and Patty had no idea what 
he meant. 

It was late afternoon when they drove up to a 
big and splendid summer hotel at Lenox. 

“ How gorgeous ! ” cried Patty, looking about. 
“ Let’s stay here all summer, Lady Van ! ” 

“We’ll see, my dear; it may not be so en- 
trancing as it looks at first.” 

“ Oh, it’s lovely ! Such views, and such flower- 
gardens and everything. And, well ! for good- 
ness’ gracious’ sake ! If there aren’t the 
Homers ! ” 

Sure enough, on the veranda sat the Homer 
family, and their cousin, Kit Cameron. 

Kit and Marie sighted Patty at the same time, 
and nearly fell over each other as they made a 
mad dash for her. 

“Patty Fairfield! ” they cried in concert; and 
then quieted down to be presented to Mrs. Van 
Reypen. 

“How well you’re looking!” Marie ex- 
claimed. “ Jell me all about that fearful 

[ 233 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

experience of yours! Were you really kid- 
napped? Didn’t you nearly die? ” 

And as she paused for breath, her younger sis- 
ter, Bee, took up the catechism. 

“ Where are you going? Are you on a tour? 
Are you going to stay here long? Oh, I’m so 
glad you’ve come ! ” 

Kit greeted her less excitedly but none the less 
warmly. 

“ Awfully jolly to have you here,” he said. 
“ Hope you’re to stay a bit. You’ll like it, I 
know. Do you golf, Patty? ” 

“ No, but I’m going to learn,” and seeing a 
frown on Phil’s face, she added, saucily, “ That 
is if I can find a teacher who isn’t too high in his 
charges.” 

“ Charges! ” said Kit. “ Now don’t you go 
and take regular lessons. I can teach you as 
well as any golf-master, and I won’t charge you 
a red. Lessons, indeed ! Why, in a week you 
can learn all there is to learn, and then all you 
need is practice.” 

Then the newcomers were shown to their 
rooms and Patty followed Mrs. Van Reypen to 
the pretty apartments assigned to them. 

“ I like this place,” declared the elder lady. 
“ It is most attractive. I’m sure we shall stay 

[ 234] 


Romance 

here some time. But we’ll see. I may not like 
the table.” 

“ Oh, you’re sure to,” said Patty. “ Such a 
beautiful hotel must have everything in har- 
mony. I love it all. If I get into my frock be- 
fore you do, Lady Van, may I run down and 
explore a bit?” 

“ Yes, indeed, child. Do just whatever you like. 
Call Nina when you want her. This is your 
room, and this is mine; adjoining, you see, so if 
either of us has nightmare she can tell the other. 
And this sitting-room or breakfast room, we 
will all share. Oh, yes, these appointments are 
delightful.” 

Patty selected a light-blue frock for this, her 
first appearance at the hotel. It was the most 
becoming colour to her fairness, and this gown, 
of the shade known as robin’s egg, was one of 
her prettiest, though not most elaborate cos- 
tumes. It was of soft silk, simply made, and cut 
with a half-low round neck that was very becom- 
ing. Patty caught up a filmy chiffon scarf that 
matched her gown’s colour, and after a saucy 
nod of approval at her reflection in the mirror, 
she danced downstairs. 

On the way she communed with herself in 
happy mood. “ Something tells me I’m in for 
[ 235 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

a good time,” she remarked confidentially to 
herself. And she was smiling over the pros- 
pect, when she reached the lower hall and 
found Kit Cameron there waiting for her. 

“Well, now, am I not the wizard!” he ex- 
claimed. “ I felt it in my collar-bones that you’d 
come down before the rest of your crowd and 
give me a few minutes of you to myself.” 

“ I didn’t come for that purpose,” and Patty 
smiled and dimpled at him, “ but if you care 
for, say, three minutes, you may have them.” 

“Does a cat care for cream! Now, I’ll tell 
you. Those three minutes will be just time 
enough for me to get you something you need 
very much.” 

“ Something I need! ” 

“ Sure you do. Come with me, and I’ll get it 
for you, though I don’t mind confessing I shall 
have to steal it.” 

Wondering, Patty went with Kit into one of 
the big reception rooms of the hotel. It was un- 
occupied, as everybody was dressing for dinner. 
There were bowls of flowers on the tables here 
and there, and with a make-believe air of great 
stealthiness Kit broke off a single, half-blown 
pink rosebud from a large bunch. 

“ \Twill never be missed,” he said, “ and that 
[236] 


Romance 

costume of yours just screams for it. Isn’t it an 
exquisite shade?” 

It was; and of the exact pink to accord per- 
fectly with Patty’s blue gown. She held out her 
hand for it. 

“No,” said Kit; “it’s for your hair, and I 
must adjust it myself. You’d never get it 
right.” 

“ Very well,” said Patty, with smiling meek- 
ness, and taking a hairpin from her shining 
coils of hair, she let Kit arrange the blos- 
som, and then herself fastened it firmly in 
place. 

“ Perfect! ” said Kit. “ Look for yourself,” 
and leading her to a large mirror, he gave her 
the satisfaction of knowing it was all right and 
vastly becoming. 

“ Patty, where are you? ” and Phil’s annoyed 
voice broke in on their tete-a-tete. “ I’ve looked 
everywhere for you. What are you doing? ” 

“ Receiving votive offerings,” said Patty, 
tranquilly. “ How do you like effect of same ? ” 
She turned to him, a little defiantly, for she re- 
sented his tone of authority, but her smile dis- 
armed him, and he replied, “ Exactly right. 
Just what that costume needed.” 

“ It must be so. Everybody thinks the same 

[ 237 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

about it. Where is Lady Van? Not waiting 
for me, is she? ” 

“ Yes, but she said you needn’t haste, if you 
didn’t want to.” 

“ Of course I want to. Take me to her, 
please.” 

Patty made it her rule never to keep her kind 
hostess waiting. She didn’t consider it goo^l 
manners, and, too, Mrs. Van Reypen was of an 
impatient nature, and Patty had no wish to 
annoy her. 

Philip took her to his aunt and they went 
to the dining-room, where they were given one 
of the pleasantest tables, not far from the 
Homers’ party. 

Dinner was delightful. Patty always exerted 
herself to be entertaining at table, deeming it 
her duty to do all in her power to add to the 
others’ pleasure in return for the kindnesses 
they continually showered on her. 

“That’s a pretty frock,” and Mrs. Van Rey- 
pen nodded approval. “ You’re a little peach 
to-night, Pattibelle. Are you going to 
dance? ” 

“ Not much; perhaps a spin or two later on. 
But we must keep early hours, you know.” 

“ Do just as you like, my dear. Pm sure we’ll 
[238] 


/ 


Romance 


stay here a week, at least, so you need not 
save yourself for travelling.” 

“ Come for a stroll before the dancing begins,” 
said Philip, as they left the dining-room. 

So Patty sent Nina for an evening wrap, a 
light-blue affair, edged with swansdown, and 
they went out to the gardens. 

“Oh, isn’t it lovely!” cried Patty, as they 
strolled around in the floral park, beneath the 
starlit summer sky. 

“ Yes, it’s lovely to be here with you. Patty, 
this is our romance. No, don’t be afraid, I am 
not going to break my promise. But this whole 
trip is a romance. Now, don’t spoil it by not 
agreeing. Let it be our romance, won’t you, 
dear? It needn’t mean anything, you know, 
but just a beautiful enchanted garden trip.” 

“ Is this the enchanted garden? ” 

“ This, or any other we may come to. But 
the whole month, or however long the trip may 
last, is an enchanted time, a Romance for us.” 

“ Sounds foolish to me,” and Patty smiled, 
provokingly. 

“ No, it isn’t foolish; a Romance is never fool- 
ish, or, if it is, it’s a lovely kind of foolishness. 
Will you, Patty, — will you let it be our Ro- 
mance? ” 


[ 239] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ What do I have to do? ” and Patty looked 
at him, doubtfully. 

“ Oh, your part is easy. You just 
have to look beautiful and smile now and 
then.” 

“ H’m ! Sounds rather inane.” 

“ Oh, you can do more if you like. Much 
more, — and not a bit inane ! ” 

“ No, Pm satisfied with my role. And what 
do you do? ” 

“ My part is much harder. I have to stand 
around and look at you, and remember that I 
have promised not to ” 

“ I don’t like your Romance. Pm afraid of 
it. Come, let us go back to the house.” 

“ No, wait a minute. That’s the beauty of it. 
You needn’t be afraid of it. Truly, you needn’t. 
For, you see, I did promise, and I never break 
my word.” 

“ Well, if that’s so, all right. Come on, then, 
let’s romance.” 

“We are romancing. You see, it isn’t hard. 
We just walk along these lovely paths, and 
see the stars, ” 

“ And hear the nightingales in the ilex bushes, 
and the gondoliers warbling along the canal! 
Oh, I understand now I ” 

[ 240 ] 


Romance 

“ Yes, you’re getting the idea! Only it’s ilex 
trees, not bushes.” 

“ That doesn’t matter, the romance is the 
same. And we watch the carp singing in the 
moated grange ” 

“ Yes, singing Polly-olly-oodle all the day. 
And then, we come along to this hedge of sweet 
peas. Aren’t they wonderful? I never saw 
such fine ones. And now, what do you suppose 
romance demands of us? ” 

“What?” 

“ That you throw away that rosebud Cameron 
gave you, and wear instead the sweet peas that 
I shall pick for you.” 

“ Oh, Phil, you mustn’t pick the hotel 
flowers? ” 

“Why not?” 

“ Why, it isn’t allowed. Pm sure it isn’t. The 
proprietor won’t like it.” 

“ Then I’ll buy his old hotel. Come, now, 
discard that rose.” 

“ Why should I? ” Patty looked up at him, 
not so much in teasing mood, as gently inquir- 
ing. 

“ Because this is part of our romance. Be- 
cause you must wear my flowers on this the 
night of its inauguration.” 

[ 241 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ All right,” and in a careless way Patty took 
the rose trom her hair and cast it away. Then 
she took the tiny cluster of pink sweet peas that 
Phil offered, and deftly fastened them in her 
hair. 

“ Now,” said she, smiling, “ am I a nice Ro- 
mance? ” 

Van Reypen looked at her as if he could will- 
ingly eat her up, but he only said, quietly, 
“ You’ll do.” 

They walked longer in the garden, and their 
mood changed from gay banter to a quiet, 
friendly chat, broken by frequent silences. 

“ You’re a dear old thing, Phil,” said Patty, as 
at last they turned toward the house. 


[ 242 ] 


CHAPTER XVII 


BEMIS BUNS 

T RULY, the days sped by like an en- 
chanted dream. Patty came to the con- 
clusion that she liked a Romance, as 
Phil persisted in calling it. 

Van Reypen’s attitude toward her was perfect. 
As he had promised, he never obtruded his af- 
fection for her, but was always her willing cava- 
lier and escort whenever she wanted him. If 
she chose to accept the attentions of other men, 
he was just as affable and charming, and gaily 
transferred his companionship to some other 
girl. It was Van Reypen’s conviction that by 
these means he would bring Patty to see his real 
nature and his desirability as an accepted 
suitor. 

But Patty relied on his promise not to urge her 
to a decision, and she let herself enjoy his 
continual kindnesses without thought of the 
future. 

“Are you engaged to Mr. Van Reypen?” 
[ 243 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

asked Marie Homer, as the two girls were out 
walking by themselves, one afternoon. 

“Goodness, no!” said Patty; “and I never 
expect to be.” 

“ Nonsense, you will, too, — if you’re not al- 
ready. Why, he adores you.” 

“ That may be; but I don’t adore him, by any 
means. We’re good friends and that’s all.” 

“ Oh, I don’t know! ” and Marie wagged her 
head, sagaciously. “ He’s a determined sort of 
man, and he means to win you.” 

“ Well,” returned Patty, carelessly, “ he has 
his chance. If he can make me adore him, he 
has my full permission to do so. Phil’s awfully 
nice to me, and a jolly good comrade, but I 
shall think twice before I become tied to any 
one man. Why should I, when they’re all so 
nice? There’s Kit, now; I’m awfully fond of 
him.” 

“ He worships you, too, but he says he has no 
chance against Mr. Van Reypen.” 

“ Pooh ! What a Faintheart ! If he talks like 
that, he doesn’t deserve a chance. But Kit and 
I are too good chums to take such things very 
seriously.” 

“You’re a funny girl, Patty. You’re always 
the belle of every party or any place you may 

[ 244] 


Bemis Buns 

be, and yet you don’t seem to care a snap for 
the men.” 

“ Why, Mar-ie Ho-mer ! I do so ! I just love 
the men, all the nice ones, anyway. Why, I 
couldn’t have any fun at parties without the 
men to dance and flirt with. But I don’t want 
them around all the time. I’d get sick and tired 
of them. Now, this afternoon, for instance, I’d 
a whole lot rather go for a long walk alone with 
you, than to go back to the hotel right away, 
and talk to a lot of men there.” 

“Would you, really? Then, come on. But 
I don’t believe you mean it.” 

“ ’Deed I do mean it. Come on. We can 
walk till we’re tired and then sit ’neath a tree 
or two to rest.” 

Marie was delighted, for she rarely had Patty 
all to herself, and she loved to be with her. 
Patty’s manner left no doubt as to her good 
faith in the matter, and the two girls strolled 
along through the picturesque country, chat- 
ting volubly at times and then for a while 
silent. 

“ My, but I’m enjoying this! ” said Marie, as 
they found a pleasant shady place by the road- 
side, to sit and rest. 

“ Me, too,” said Patty, throwing off her hat, 

[ 245 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

and leaning against a large stone. “ Look, 
Marie; see that little house. What is it? ” 

“ It’s a roadhouse,” answered Marie. “ I 
mean, a tearoom. Two girls started it, but it 
hasn’t done well, somehow. I don’t know why; 
we went there once, and it seemed attrac- 
tive.” 

” Let’s go over there now,” and Patty jumped 
up. “ I’m parching for a cold lemonade with 
chinky chunks of ice in it.” 

The two girls strolled over to the little tea- 
room, and found themselves the only customers. 
It was a small affair, but the appointments were 
dainty and pretty, and a sweet-looking girl in a 
fresh tea-apron and cap greeted them at the 
doorway. 

“ How lovely and restful! ” exclaimed Patty, 
as she noted the pale-green furnishings and 
little white-clothed tables. 

The girl smiled and took their order. 

“ But this tempting place makes me hungry,” 
Patty added. “ Mayn’t we have some bread 
and butter and little cakes?” 

“ Yes, indeed,” and the girl smilingly dis- 
appeared. 

“ Marie,” said Patty, in a thoughtful way, 
“ there’s something wrong here. With all this 
[246] 


Bemis Buns 


attractive fixing-up, this establishment ought to 
be doing a rushing business.” 

“ It isn’t,” said Marie, simply. 

“No, it isn’t! And why? Because it sets 
back from the road, and no one knows it’s here. 
What to do? Advertise. How? I’ll show 
you ! ” 

Then the cakes and lemonade were brought, 
and Patty proceeded to ingratiate herself with 
the sweet-faced girl who served them. 

Her name was Miss Bemis, and it was not 
long before Patty’s tact and gentle kindliness 
had drawn out the whole story. Two sisters 
had started the little tearoom, hoping to have 
many customers among the motor-parties that 
passed that way incessantly. But, and Patty 
had guessed the reason, being a little back from 
the road, the modest sign was not conspicuous 
enough to arrest a fast-speeding motor, and 
day after day went by, with few if any travel- 
lers stopping for rest and cheer. 

“ It’s a shame ! ” declared Patty. “ That’s 
what it is ! And it’s got to be stopped ! Miss 
Bemis, have you much provender on hand?” 

Wondering, the tearoom girl took Patty to the 
back room and showed her the amount of ma- 
terial ready to convert into tea food, and also 
[ 247 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

introduced her sister, who was sorting over 
lemons. 

“H’m!” said Patty. “Now,, look here, I 
warn you two girls that I’m a freak and liable 
to do crazy things. But Miss Homer, here, will 
tell you that I’m not half as bad as I look! 
Will you let me run this tearoom, — just for a 
few hours? ” 

“ W-what do you mean? ” asked Miss Bemis, 
who was not accustomed to Patty’s whirlwind 
ways. 

“ Oh, just give me the reins of government till 
six o’clock or so. Turn me loose on the tele- 
phone and help me in the matter of sandwiches 
and lemonades. Is it a go? ” 

“ But — but, we haven’t much capital ” 

“Never mind! You will have, when I get 
through! ” and Patty was already at the tele- 
phone. 

It took her what seemed an interminable while 
to get Philip Van Reypen, and then the aston- 
ished Bemis girls heard disconnected bits of 
conversation that sounded like this : 

“ Yes, of course it’s me ! . . .at the Romance 
Tearoom . . . Why, I run it myself ! . . . bring 
everybody . . . yes, sure the most prominent 
and exclusive ones, ... oh, you dear old thing ! 

[248] 


Bemis Buns 


Will you? . . . yes, everybody in motors, that’s 
important, . . . and, Phil, music, ... no mat- 
ter, but music , anyway. . . . Get here by four, 
. . . yes, Bemis Tearoom, near the Carter 

crossroad. Hurry up ! . . . and bring a ham- 
per from the hotel with you, . . . see to it 
yourself, personally, . . . oh, it’ll be ready for 
you, . . . I’ll attend to that. . . . Yes, thank 
you! Heavenly! . . . You’re a dear . . . 
good-bye ! Hurry ! ” 

Patty hung up the receiver, her face aglow 
with gay excitement. 

“They’re all coming!” she announced. 
“ Crowds of ’em ! And Phil will insist on send- 
ing some flowers as his contribution to my enter- 
prise. Oh, Miss Bemis, wont it be lovely!” 
She seized the astounded younger sister round 
the waist, and executed a short but emphatic 
dance. 

“ Wha — what is it all? ” and the other sister 
looked a little frightened. 

“ It’s all right,” and Patty smiled, reassur- 
ingly. “ But to come right down to gold nails, 
as we say in France, I’m going to give this tea- 
room a boost. I’ve asked a lot of the hotel peo- 
ple to come over, right now, and they’re going 
to bring music, and we’re going to dance a 

[ 249 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

couple of times, while you girls get ready your 
showiest, flummeriest tea racket. You can make 
good, I know it ! All you need is a fair chance, 
and that you’re going to have right now ! ” 

“ Miss Fairfield! How good of you! ” and 
Miss Bemis winked hard to keep back the tears 
of joy. 

“ Now, now, — leave the grateful business out 
till after the ball is over, and don’t do the weep- 
ing act till you’ve made the tea ! Remember 
you sink or swim in that tea ! If it isn’t good, 
you won’t catch those hotel people over here 
again in a hurry! If it is good, you’ll have 
’em cluttering up your doorstep, waiting for 
sunrise ! ” 

Imbued with Patty’s spirit of enthusiasm, the 
Bemis girls flew at their work, which they thor- 
oughly understood. They added their extra 
tables, and furnished and decorated them with 
a quick deftness that won Patty’s admiration. 
They laid things in readiness in the kitchen, and 
prepared for the reception of the hamper of 
cakes and confections Patty had ordered sent 
from the hotel. 

“ Give the men the hotel stuff,” said the wise- 
owl mentor; “they won’t know the difference. 
But give the women your own waffles and tea- 

[ 250] 


Bemis Buns 


cakes, and so build up a large and lasting repu- 
tation. Feature something. These sugared 
buns are wonderful! We’ll call them the fa- 
mous Bemis Buns, and I’ll warrant you can’t 
serve them fast enough! Oh, we’ll have the 
time of our life ! ” 

While the Bemis sisters worked in the tearoom 
and kitchen, Patty and Marie made the broad, 
side veranda ready for dancing. A few bowls 
of flowers on corner tables, and a chair or two 
here and there, were all that was needed, and 
just as all was in readiness the motors began to 
arrive. 

Van Reypen was among the first. He had 
obeyed Patty’s commands to the letter, and had 
added some ideas of his own. 

“What’s it all about?” he asked, gaily, as 
he came up to Patty. “ Where shall I put the 
hamper? ” 

“ Send it around back, it will be looked after. 
Now, Phil, you see, it’s this way. These two 
poor girls have a first-class tearoom and no- 
body to it ! So, we provide the people for one 
time, and then we must also make them like it so 
much that they’ll come again, often, of their 
own accord.” 

“ I’m on ! Count on me ! What next ? ” 

[ 25 1 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ That’s all. Just sit around and look hand- 
some and happy, and when the music comes 
save one dance for me ! ” 

“ If I can,” said Phil, laughing. “ I know I’ll 
be terribly in demand ! I say, Patty, it is a jolly 
little place ! ” 

“Of course it is! And we can make it the 
success it deserves to be, if we play up the game 
to-day.” 

And they did play up. The infectious gaiety 
and good humour of Patty and her friends was 
followed by all the guests who came and went 
at intervals during the afternoon. Patty had 
the satisfaction of seeing a string of motor- 
cars before the door, which attracted those pass- 
ing on the main road and they turned in to see 
what was going on. 

But Patty’s chief dependence was on the hotel 
people, and she flitted among them, telling them 
what a convenience it was to have this attractive 
place so near. She knew if they came over oc- 
casionally tourists would follow, and the place 
would soon gain a vogue. For the Bemis sis- 
ters were clever and accomplished at this work 
and, with a start, could be trusted to keep on. 

The dancing proved popular, for the music 
was good and the floor fair. 

[ 252 ] 


Bemis Buns 

“ Our dance,” said Philip, coming up to Patty, 
later, and in a moment they were stepping along 
the veranda. 

“ What a trump you are, Patty, to do all this 
for a couple of girls you never saw before ! ” 

“ Why, I didn’t do it, Phil; you did it! What 
could I have done without you at the other end 
of that telephone ? ” 

“ You could have had anybody else at that 
end, it was this end that counted.” 

“ Not at all. Nobody else could have done 
just what I asked, exactly as I wanted it 
done.” 

“ That’s nice of you, Patsy. I like to have 
you like what I do.” 

“ Then always do what I like, that’s easy.” 

“ I try to,” and Phil looked so humble that 
Patty laughed. 

“Well, um was um nice boy, so um was!” 
she said. “ Now let’s go walk in the garden.” 

“ A bit of our Romance,” said Phil, in a low 
tone as they stepped into the little path that led 
to the tiny old-fashioned garden, with its mari- 
golds and Sweet Williams, and bluebells and 
bleeding hearts. 

“ It’s romantic enough for anybody,” and 
Patty glanced around the little flower beds, 
[ 253 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

edged by a narrow band of turf, dotted with 
clam shells. 

“ Sit here a moment,” said Phil, as they came 
to a rustic settee. “ Now, what can I do to fur- 
ther this scheme of yours? You know we leave 
here day after to-morrow.” 

“Yes, I know; but there’s lots to do. You 
see, you’ve met quite some several men at the 
hotel, and I’ve met a lot of girls. Now, you 
ask the men and I’ll ask the girls to promise 
to come over here, say about once a week or so 
all through the season.” 

“ Very good, my lady; but may I make a sug- 
gestion? ” 

“ Yes, if it’s a good one.” 

“ You bet it is! It’s this. You ask the men 
to do this, and I’ll ask the girls ! ” 

Patty looked at him a moment, then broke 
into a laugh. 

“Phil, you’re a wizard! That’s much, much 
better ! The ladies just simply can’t resist your 
request ! ” 

“ Such barefaced fishing catches no flattery ! 
Now, go on with your directions.” 

“ Well, and then, we must make them promise 
to urge or force or otherwise persuade all new- 
comers to go and do likewise. Oh, Phil, just 
[ 254 ] 


Bemis Buns 


think what it will mean to these two nice girls 
to have this place succeed instead of fail ! ” 

“ Yes, that makes a difference to most peo- 
ple. But, Pattibelle, I’ll do just all I can in the 
matter, in the ways you’ve suggested, and I 
know that with the start you’ve given them 
they’re bound to get along.” 

“ Oh, I do hope so! They’re lovely girls, and’ 
so capable. If they hadn’t been I shouldn’t 
have gone in for it at all, for there would have 
been no use. Perhaps Lady Van will come over 
here to-morrow; that would help a lot.” 

“ Of course she will, and we’ll bring a crowd, 
and then after that the thing will be pretty fully 
fledged, don’t you see? ” 

“ Oh, here you are ! ” and Kit Cameron’s voice 
interrupted their conversation. “ Am I in- 
truding on a romance? ” 

“That’s just what you’re doing!” declared 
Phil. “ But as that’s your vocation in life, we 
must expect it.” 

“ And as romance is Miss Fairfield’s vocation 
in life, she doesn’t mind, do you? ” and Kit took 
the seat from which Van Reypen had just 
risen. 

“ Not a bit,” said Patty, gaily. “ All ro- 
mances look alike to me ! ” 

[ 255 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

But Phil refused to be offended, and waved 
his hand, good-naturedly, as he strolled away. 

“ Good old Van,” said Cameron, looking after 
him. “ He did a lot for you to-day, Patty.” 

“Such as how?” and Patty’s blue eyes were 
wide with interest. 

“ Why, the hotel people couldn’t supply the 
stuff exactly as you ordered it, and old Van 
went hippety-hop-to-the-barber-shop, — I mean, 
over to Lenox, — and accumulated the goods to 
the minutest detail. And it was a boiling hot 
trip, and he had a blowout, and some several 
other little botherations, but he came up smil- 
ing.” 

“ He never told me all that,” and Patty’s eyes 
shone to think of Phil’s kindness. 

“ Rather not! He’s no fretter! But I told 
you, so you’d feel sorry for him and not let me 
tease him.” 

“ How absurd you are, Kit! ” said Patty, look- 
ing bewildered at this mixed motive. 

“ No, Pm not. Anything but. I say, Patty, 
there goes a gorgeous waltz canter! Have a 
go at it? ” 

“Yes, indeed!” and Patty went for a last 
dance before time to go home. She loved to 
dance with Kit, who was the best dancer among 
[256] 


Bemis Buns 


her men friends, and the pair were greatly ad- 
mired as they swayed, to the music strains, 
along the veranda. 

“ All aboard ! ” cried Phil, as a motor came 
up to the steps. “ Hop in, Pattibelle ! There’s 
doings at the hotel to-night, and Aunty Van 
wants you home betimes. In with you! ” 

Without resenting his tone of authority, Patty 
paused only for a word with the Bemis girls and 
a promise to see them to-morrow, and then took 
her place in the car. 

Marie and Kit came with them, and all the way 
home they discussed and made plans for the 
new project. All agreed to do all they possibly 
could to help along in every way, and they felt 
they had great reason to feel encouragement. 


[ 257 1 


CHAPTER XVIII 


A CANOE TRIP 

B Y easy stages and having made several 
stops of varying length, the motor party 
proceeded up into the Green Mountains, 
and in due course reached Lake Sunapee. 

This was a beautiful sheet of water, and from 
the broad terraces of the hotel Patty and Aunty 
Van sat one afternoon, watching the sunlit rip- 
ples of the lake. 

“Enjoying yourself, little girl?” asked the 
older lady. 

“Oh, so much, Lady Van! Every place 
seems more beautiful than the last one. And I 
like, specially, not having to know people. 
That’s the worst of staying at a hotel all the 
season; you get acquainted, and then you have 
got to do things whether you want to or not.” 

“ Yes, I like it, too, knowing none or but few 
at each place we stop. But, Patty, who is that 
man who seems to have trailed you here from 
Lenox?” 


[258] 


A Canoe Trip 

“Isn’t he horrid!” and Patty lowered her 
voice. “ His name is Cantrell; I did meet him 
at Lenox, but I can’t bear him, and I was most 
cool to him. I don’t believe he really followed 
us here, but he is here, and if he continues to 
annoy me I shall be positively rude to him.” 

“ He’s good-looking, and yet, I don’t like his 
looks.” 

“ Nor I. Phil says he’ll wring his neck if he 
looks at me again ; and except that it might get 
Phil in trouble, I shouldn’t mind his doing it.” 

“ You like Philip, don’t you, Patty? ” 

“Heaps, Lady Van; he’s my favourite beau 
at the moment.” 

“Oh, Patty-puss!” and Mrs. Van Reypen 
smiled, “ what a coquette you are ! ” 

“ Yes’m, I am. Aren’t you? ” 

“Saucebox! But I’ll confess that I was, in 
my youthful days.” 

“ Then you know how necessary it is,” and 
Patty heaved a mock sigh, as if weighed down 
with her girlhood responsibilities. She found 
it expedient to treat such subjects as these 
very lightly with her hostess, for she well knew 
that Mrs. Van Reypen greatly desired a match 
between her and Philip, and this Patty was by 
no means ready to consent to. 

[ 259 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ It is necessary, to a degree,” Mrs. Van Rey- 
pen went on, “ but some day you must make a 
choice, Patty.” 

“ Yes’m,” and Patty looked dreamily out 
across the lake, with about as much sign of 
making a choice as the bird on a nearby branch. 

“ Yes, you must, my child; and tell me, where 
could you find a better, nobler, truer heart than 
Philip’s.” 

“ Lady Van,” and Patty broke into laughter, 
“ do you remember when you solemnly warned 
me against having my head turned by the 
frivolous attentions of your nephew? ” 

The other smiled too. She well remembered 
the days Patty had been with her as “ com- 
panion ” in a hireling sense, and she had, in- 
deed, warned the girl not to take seriously the 
admiring glances Philip had then bestowed 
upon her. 

But the poor and friendless companion was a 
very different personage in the old lady’s eyes, 
from Patty Fairfield, the petted darling of 
society; for Mrs. Van Reypen was a bit of a 
snob, albeit a very kind-hearted one. 

But there was no snobbery about her nephew, 
and Philip Van Reypen had loved pretty Patty 
as soon as he saw her, and even while believing 
[ 260] 


A Canoe Trip 

that she was his aunt’s lowly companion. His 
feelings for her had never changed except to 
grow deeper and more intense, and Patty had 
begun to wish that she could return this strong 
and manly regard with the gift of her own 
affection. But when she thought it over all by 
herself, she couldn’t reach a definite conclu- 
sion, and usually went to sleep trying to 
do so. 

“ This has been a wonderful trip,” said Patty, 
as she reminisced over the tour from the day 
they had started, “ or rather, is being it, for it’s 
not nearly over. I liked Manchester a lot, 
didn’t you, Lady Van? ” 

“ Yes, it is picturesque. But this place is even 
more beautiful, and when you see the White 
Mountains, well, you’ll have to get a new stock 
of adjectives, that’s all.” 

“ I improved my golf a lot in Manchester,” 
went on Patty, meditatively, “ and I loved the 
marble walks there. But this lake is the most 
beautifulest, I think, too, — hello, if there isn’t 
Philippe ! ” 

Phil strolled up, looking rather stunning in his 
white flannels, and his aunt viewed him with un- 
concealed pride. 

“ Tasty, isn’t he? ” said Patty, looking at him 

1 261 j 


Patty’s Romance 

with her head on one side, as if studying a work 
of art. 

But she didn’t ruffle the young man’s savoir- 
faire, and he coolly regarded her embroidered 
white linen costume with an equally critical eye. 

“ You’ll do,” he said. “ What’s on, Aunty 
Wan?” 

“I’ve an engagement to go driving with Mrs. 
Markham; can you two infants amuse your- 
selves, or each other? ” 

“ Oh, we’re going out romancing,” and Philip 
nodded his head at Patty. 

“What in?” she demanded. “Will it spoil 
my frock? ” 

“Not a bit of it. We’re going in a canoe; 
a very large, spacious, and roomy canoe.” 

“ Aw, they ain’t no such animal ! ” and Patty 
looked incredulous at his described craft. 

“ Come and see,” and he turned toward the 
lake. 

“ Run on, child, it won’t hurt your frock, and 
it will tub anyway. Go, if Philip wants you.” 

“ Do you want me, Philip? ” 

“ Yep. Come along. But you must be goody- 
girl, and sit awful still, or you’ll find yourself 
sprawling on the bottom of the lake, and that 
will spot your frock pretty bad.” 

[262 ] 


A Canoe Trip 

The two started off for the lake, and Mrs. 
Van Reypen looked after them with pride. 
“How can she resist him?” she said 
to herself. “ But surely he’s having his 
chance. If he doesn’t win, it won’t be his 
fault ! ” 

The two subjects of her thoughts were walking 
along like children, swinging their joined hands, 
and both glad and happy with youth and the 
summer time. 

“ Patty,” and a frown came to Phil’s face, 
“ I’ve just simply got to drown that Cantrell 
object ! ” 

“ Go ahead, Philip, he isn’t my property? ” 

“ Has he spoken to you to-day? ” 

“ I grieve to state he has. He informed me 
that the weather was ripping, and he further- 
more asked me to walk down to the lake with 
him.” 

“ Where was I while this enthralling conver- 
sation was going on? ” 

“ Dunno, I’m sure. I looked around for you 
to spring a C. Q. D. signal, but you weren’t on 
the horizon.” 

“ Where was Aunty Van? ” 

“ Oh, she had mislaid me for a moment, not 
thinking the ogre would gobble me up.” 

[263] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Patty, behave yourself ! What did you say 
to him?” 

“ I asked him was his grandmother a mon- 
key.” 

“ Tell me.” 

“ Well, Philip, I said, ‘ Thank you, no, Mr. 
Cantrell, I don’t care to walk down to the lake 
with you.’ ” 

“You’re sure you said ‘with you’?” 

“Sure I did! and emphasised it. Good 
gracious, Phil, you don’t think I’d talk to him 
pleasantly, do you? ” 

“ There’s no telling what you’ll do, you’re so 
confounded good-natured! ” 

“ I’m not good-natured enough to be talked 
to like that ! ” 

“ No, and I am glad you’re not! I apologise, 
Patty, but you know I don’t mean to offend you. 
I’m mad at that fellow, that’s all. Why, Patty, 
he’s a bounder, and you mustn’t even speak to 
him ! ” 

“ Well, then, keep him away from me. How 
are nice little girls expected to get rid of bound- 
ers, if they bound at ’em when they’re all 
alone? ” 

“ You sha’n’t be left alone again! Of course, 
he wouldn’t eat you alive, but it isn’t right for 

[264] 


A Canoe Trip 

him even to speak to you, and I won’t have it ! 
Now, drop the subject, for it only riles me all 
up. Here’s our canoe; isn’t she a beauty! ” 

“ But you said it was big! ” 

“ So it is, — for a canoe. Oh, it’s all right. 
Now, get in steadily, and use a little common 
sense about sitting down straight.” 

Patty obeyed orders implicitly, and in a few 
moments they were shooting across the silvery 
lake as Phil cleverly wielded the paddle. 

“ Isn’t it great ! ” he cried. “ Now, see if you 
can talk without upsetting the craft. Few girls 
can.” 

“ Pooh, of course I can! ” and Patty, as good 
as her word, sat like a little graven image, 
though her chatter was enthusiastic and gleeful. 

“This is the life! Hey? How’s this for 
Romance, girl? ” 

“Perfect! This is the very nicest bit of 
romance we’ve had so far, Phil. I never was 
in a canoe before. I think it’s the romantickest 
vehicle in the world, unless maybe a gon- 
dola.” 

“ Huh! Beats a gondola all hpllow! There’s 
no danger of upsetting in those black Venetian 
tubs.” 

“ N — no, — but if you don’ t care specially 

[ 265 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

about it, Phil, I — I guess we won’t upset to- 
day.” 

“You bet we won’t! Why, Patty, this is a 
Romance trip. It isn’t a bit upsetting to ro- 
mance — I mean it isn’t romantic to upset ” 

“ You stop talking and ’tend to your paddling! 
Remember who I are, and what I’m dressed 
in ! ” 

“ You are the sweetest girl that sails the 
water,” sang Phil, carrying on the old “ Pina- 
fore ” refrain. 

“ But, please, kind sailor, don’t go teeter- 
tawter! Refrain, audacious tar!” 

“ Sit right still where you are ! ” 

Shaking with laughter at their impromptu 
duet, Patty still carefully kept her balance, and 
after some time they came to a tiny but pic- 
turesque island. 

“ Let’s get out and uncramp,” suggested Phil. 

“ Yes, let’s. My joints are rusted from dis- 
use. What a heavenly spot ! ” 

It was, indeed. The little island boasted a 
few trees and a few waving shrubs. It had a 
soft sand beach, and in the centre was a pile 
of craggy rocks, while vines and gra£s formed 
a fair, clean carpet. 

“ There, Pattibelle, this is a perfectly good 

[ 266 ] 


A Canoe Trip 

place for a bit of romance, and it’s so clean it 
won’t hurt your pretty clothes at all.” 

“ We can’t stay long, Phil. The shadders 
are falling on me and thee.” 

“ Wait till I tie this canoe fast, and I’ll sing you 
the rest of that pome,” cried Phil, his speech 
somewhat impeded because of his hand-to-hand 
struggle with the rope he was knotting. 

“’Member?” he asked, as he came up the 
slope and threw himself on the bench beside her, 

“ ‘ In Venice the golden, to dream, to dream, 
With love-stories olden for theme, for theme; 
In Venice the golden, to waste life with thee, — 
Thus true lovers taste life, — Stall! Stall! ’ ” 

“ Yes, I remember, — pretty thing, isn’t it? 
What does Stall mean? ” 

“ That’s the gondolier’s cry. I say, Patty, 
isn’t this better than Venice?” 

“ Well, that’s a pretty large order. Venice 
is all right, Phil.” 

“ Yes, for some future time. But for now, 
just this very minute, there isn’t a place on 
earth to compare with this little island of 
ours ! ” 

“ Is it ours? ” 


[ 267 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Yes, for the moment, by right of adoption. 
We’ll just keep it long enough for one golden 
Romance hour, or half-hour, as it is getting late, 
and then we’ll give up our claim to it. But 
we’ll put the memory of it away with our Ro- 
mance memories, — won’t us, Pattibelle? ” 

“ We’re accumulating a lot of those ” 

“ Yes, and there are going to be a lot more. 
Well, Little Goldihead, I hate to say it, but 
I s’pose we ought to be starting, or these fall- 
ing shadows will fall all over us.” 

“ Yes; it is lovely here, Phil. Let me take one 
more look.” 

Patty gazed out across the lake, the sunset 
turning everything to a red-gold splendour, the 
breeze gently stirring the trees, and the far- 
away mountains making a majestic background. 

“ Isn’t it ” she began, but she got no fur- 

ther. 

“ Jiminy crickets! ” Phil was shouting, as he 
ran down to their landing-place, in three or four 
great strides. “ The canoe is gone ! ” 

“Gone!” said Patty, for the simple reason 
that she didn’t know what else to say. “ What 
do you mean? ” 

“ Nothing but that! Just that! The canoe is 
gone ! The — canoe — is — gone ! ! ” 

[268] 


A Canoe Trip 

“ How shall we get home? ” 

“ Ah, at least your mind has not lost its logi- 
cal sequence ! Now, if you can only answer 
your own question, — we shall be all right.” 

“ But, Phil ” 

“ There, Patty, I was a brute even to seem to 
tease you! But, Pm beside myself! I can’t 
understand it! The way I tied that knot, — it 
couldn’t have come untied, — it just plain 
couldn’t ! ” 

Patty stooped and looked at the end of rope 
still clinging to the post. 

“ Phil ! ” she cried; “ it didn’t get loose ! It’s 
been cut ! ” 

“ So it has ! ” and Phil scrutinised the rope 
end. “ Some one has stolen the canoe ! ” 

“Yes, some one must have! Now we must 
think up a plan to get home.” 

“ But there isn’t any way! Patty, you don’t 
seem to understand. We’re in an awful plight! 
No one knows where we are, so they can’t 
come after us. It’s too far to swim to the main- 
land, and, oh, — my little girl, — I can never 
forgive myself for getting you into this 
scrape ! ” 

“ You didn’t do it, Phil,” and Patty gently 
touched the hands that covered Phil’s eyes. 
[ 269 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ It wasn’t your fault that somebody stole the 
boat.” 

But Van Reypen didn’t look up; he was really 
appalled at the catastrophe and realised far 
better than Patty what it meant. 

“ Don’t, Phil,” she said, trying to take his 
hands down; “it’s our Romance, you know. 
Anything can happen on a Romance ! ” 

Patty said this, only with a vague idea of 
comforting the stricken man, and Phil well 
knew it. He looked up. “ What a dear thing 
you are ! ” he exclaimed, and taking her rose- 
leaf face between his hands he looked deep 
into her clear, blue eyes. 

Then he shook himself, like a big dog after a 
run, and said: “ Listen, dear; this is a very seri- 
ous accident that has befallen us. As you must 
see, there is no way for us to leave this island. 
It is even more impossible that we should re- 
main here. So, much as I hate to do it, I shall 
have to leave you here alone. There is no other 
way. I shall swim across, and come back for 
you in a motor-boat. You won’t be frightened, 
will you, dear? ” 

“ No,” said Patty, while her quivering lip be- 
lied her words. “ But, Phil, — how long will 
you be gone? ” 


[270] 


A Canoe Trip 

“ Not a second longer than I can help, Patty, 
dear. Be brave; nothing can harm you, you 
know, only you will be alone. I’m going at 
once, and I hope to be back before dark.” 

“ But, — Phil, — you said it was too far to 
swim.” 

Van Reypen set his teeth. “ So it is, in ordi- 
nary circumstances; but, when it means your 
safety, I shall do it! Now, who's your 
Leander? ” 

Patty tried to smile in reply, but it was not a 
great success. She held out her cold little hand, 
and Van Reypen caught it, and covered it with 
kisses. 

Then, without another word, he threw off his 
coat and shoes and plunged into the lake. 

Patty watched him out of sight, and then sat 
down on the ground and cried. It wasn’t from 
fright or loneliness, but fear for Phil’s safety. 

“ He’ll be drowned! ” she wailed, to herself; 
“ I know he will ! Oh, what a thing to happen ! 
And it was nobody’s fault ! Who could expect 
to have their canoe stolen! I don’t suppose 
such a thing happens once in a blue moon, — 
well, not twice in a blue moon, — anyhow ! ” 

Patty was getting hysterical, and she jumped 
up and walked up and down to control the 

[ 271 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

great chills that shook her, not because of the 
cold, but from nervous exhaustion and fear. 

She put on the coat Phil had left behind, and 
somehow it comforted her, aside from the 
warmth it gave. Phil was a dear old thing! 
He certainly was ! And he would come back for 
her, of that she was sure. Unless — unless he — 
well, he wouldn't be ! she knew he wouldn’t ! 

Looking through the gathering dusk, Patty 
saw a boat approach the other side of the island. 
At first, she was about to give a glad shout, 
and then restrained herself, just in time. For 
it was not Phil, and it was some stranger. 

“ Instinctively, Patty felt it would be a good 
thing to hide. She couldn’t explain this im- 
pulse to herself, but it was insistent, and she 
looked about for a hiding-place. None offered, 
except a low-branched tree. It seemed absurd 
to climb that, but the boat in question was al- 
ready making a landing on the other side of 
the little island, and again Patty felt that dread 
of the intruder. So, she lightly swung herself 
up into the tree, and climbed into the thickness 
of the branches, just as a man came hurrying 
along beneath the tree. 

She heard him muttering, and though his 
words were disconnected and not very intelli- 
[ 272 ] 


A Canoe Trip 

gible, she gathered that he was decidedly non- 
plussed. 

He searched everywhere on the little island, 
he found and examined Phil’s shoes, — Patty 
had his coat still on, — and at last he swore 
roundly. 

And then, Patty recognised the voice! And 
it was the voice of Mr. Cantrell ! If she wasn’t 
glad of her thick screen of shelter! She felt 
sure he would never dream of looking up there 
for her, unless she should sneeze! And this 
she determined not to do, if she choked to death 
first ! 

She tried to reason it out. Of course, he had 
stolen the canoe. Doubtless, with a desire to 
put her and Philip in a difficult position and 
then himself play the role of hero, by coming 
to their rescue in a boat ! 

He had come in his boat, and finding Van 
Reypen gone, had concluded she had gone too, 
and was frantic over the failure of his scheme. 

Patty kept as still as a mouse. She scarcely 
dared breathe deeply lest her hiding-place be 
discovered. Cantrell was furious. He threw 
Phil’s shoes into the lake, for no apparent rea- 
son other than to relieve the strain on his tem- 
per. He strode up and down, and Patty 
[ 273 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

wondered why he remained at all. For surely 
he didn’t suspect her presence or he would be 
peering about. At last he seemed to decide to 
go away. He went to his boat, a fairly good- 
sized one, and moodily puttered around there, 
as if uncertain as to his next procedure. 

As a matter of fact, he was afraid to go back 
to the hotel. He wasn’t sure how much of his 
work had been observed, and if Van Reypen 
ever found him out, he knew he’d horsewhip 
him. 

But his prolonged stay caused Patty great in- 
convenience. She chanced to be sitting on one 
foot, and she didn’t dare move, lest she be 
heard; so she sat still, while darting pins and 
needles burned and stung the poor little foot 
in its dainty, white canvas shoe. But Patty sat 
tight and refused to whimper, even to herself. 


[ 274] 


CHAPTER XIX 


BRIER ISLAND 

N OW, it so chanced that Mr. William 
Farnsworth’s somewhat complicated 
business affairs called him to New York 
in the latter part of July. And, being drawn 
by an irresistible impulse, which he did not even 
try to overcome, he betook himself to Spring 
Beach on the day before the episode related in 
our last chapter. 

He was greeted most cordially by the elder 
Fairfields, but his disappointment at not seeing 
the younger member of the family was obvious, 
and he made no attempt to conceal it. 

“Just my luck!” he remarked, gloomily. 
“ Here I come, ‘ across the desert,’ like the fa- 
mous Bedouin gentleman, only to find the lady 
‘ gone with a handsomer man ’ ! ” 

“Oh, I don’t know about that!” and Nan 
smiled at the more than good-looking young 
giant who was thus humorously voicing his 
regret. 


[ 27s ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Go after her,” suggested Fred Fairfield. 
“ They’re at Lake Sunapee just now. You’ve 
a right to go there if you like.” 

Big Bill’s face brightened. “ Do you think 
Patty would like that?” he asked, eagerly. 

“ Why not? ” responded Nan. “ All men are 
fish who come to Patty’s net. She can’t have 
too many beaux.” 

“ That doesn’t sound awfully encouraging,” 
and Big Bill frowned a little. “ But, I say, she 
isn’t engaged to that Van Reypen chap, is 
she? ” 

“ She wasn’t when she left us,” smiled Nan. 
“ That’s all I can guarantee.” 

“ Well, by George ! Pm going up there ! ” and 
the Viking head tossed back its thick mane of 
tawny hair. “You see, I’ve invested in a con- 
signment of swagger toggery and it does seem 
a shame not to put it on parade ! ” 

“ That’s right! ” and Fred Fairfield laughed at 
the idea; “go right along, Farnsworth; you’ll 
find those big hotels a fine setting for your glad 
clothings. Go ahead, and cut out Van Reypen 
before it’s too late.” 

“I have your permission to do that?” and 
Farnsworth gave Mr. Fairfield a serious look. 

“ Surely. My little girl must have her own 
[276] 


Brier Island 


way in these matters, but if her way inclines 
toward you, nobody will be gladder than her 
old father.” 

The two men shooks hands, and Farnsworth 
took a time-table from his pocket. Then he 
took the next train to New York, and then, after 
only unavoidable delays, he took a train for the 
New Hampshire resort. 

So that’s how it happened that as Mrs. Van 
Reypen sat on the hotel veranda, waiting for 
Phil and Patty to return from their canoe trip, 
she saw a tall, stunning-looking man coming 
smilingly toward her. 

“ Mrs. Van Reypen? ” said the blond giant, 
bowing low. “ I hope you remember me. My 
name’s Farnsworth, and we have met at the 
Fairfields’ in New York.” 

“ Yes, indeed, I remember you very well, Mr. 
Farnsworth. Pray be seated. Are you a new 
arrival? ” 

“Yes; just up from town, for a breath of 
mountain air.” 

Aunty Van looked him over. She knew little 
of his acquaintance with Patty, but she knew 
they were friends, and she feared a possible 
rival for her boy. But her partial eyes saw 
[ 277 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

Philip’s attractions far greater than this man’s, 
and she couldn’t think Patty would prefer a 
Westerner to her aristocratic nephew; even 
though she was forced to admit to herself that 
the Westerner had a distinguished air and 
charming manners. 

She told Farnsworth of the canoe trip on which 
the two young people had gone, and admitted 
that she was surprised that they had not yet re- 
turned. 

“ But you see,” she said, smiling, “ they call 
this whole trip their ‘ Romance,’ and so we must 
forgive them an occasional lingering in ro- 
mantic surroundings.” 

“ Sits the wind in that quarter? ” said Farns- 
worth, lightly, though the words struck a cold 
chill to his heart. 

“ Very much in that quarter,” and Mrs. Van 
Reypen nodded most convincingly. “ Patty is a 
dear girl, and I have tried to give them all pos- 
sible opportunity to enjoy their ‘ Romance,’ 
without more chaperonage than called for by 
actual convention.” 

“Yes?” said Farnsworth, forcing a politely 
interested smile. 

“ Yes; and they appreciate it, and repay me by 
the most solicitous care and attention to my 
[278] 


Brier Island 

comfort. So we are really having an ideal 
trip, you see.” 

“ I see,” said Bill. “ Did you say they were 
out in a canoe ? ” 

“ Yes,” and Mrs. Van Reypen looked a little 
anxious. “ Of course they are all right, Philip 
is an expert canoeist, and Patty is not one to 
1 rock the boat.’ But it is late for them to stay 
out.” 

“ The lake is getting rough, too,” observed 
Farnsworth, looking out at it. “ But, of course, 
they’ll turn up any minute now.” 

But they didn’t, and at last Farnsworth said he 
would stroll down to the beach, and walk up 
with them on their arrival. 

He went down, and fell into conversation with 
some of the beach attendants. 

“ They’d orter be in,” said one man. “ I don’t 
like ’em bein’ out so late. ’Tain’t like Mr. Van 
Reypen, neither. He’s gen’ally most careful.” 

Farnsworth stood, hands in pockets, looking 
out across the lake. Somewhere out there was 
Patty, — Patty with Philip Van Reypen. Ah, 
well, she naturally would prefer polished, ac- 
complished Philip to a blunt, crude Westerner 
like himself. 

“But it isn’t fair!” he groaned to himself. 
[ 279 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ I haven’t really had a chance. Perhaps it 
would be better if I went away without seeing 
her, and yet, I must see her once again. I 
must ! 99 

Big Bill stood staring at the wide expanse of 
water, his eyes full of pain, his heart aching with 
love of Patty, — little Apple-Blossom Patty, — 
the only girl who had ever appealed in the 
slightest degree to his great wealth of ungiven 
affection. Patty, the little, golden-haired, 
laughing witch who haunted his dreams, asleep 
or awake. 

As he looked, his attention was caught by a 
dark object far out on the surface of the water. 

He called the beach-master to look at it. 

“ Nothin’ ’tall,” said the man, squinting 
through the deepening dusk. 

But Farnsworth’s eyes were accustomed to 
long distances, and he insisted that it was the 
head of a man, swimming. 

“ Nonsense, ’tain’t no sech thing,” and the 
beach-man laughed him to scorn. 

But in another minute Farnsworth turned with 
a shout: “ It is I ” he cried; “ I tell you, it is! 
Give me a motor-boat! Your best and fastest! 
and your best engineer! Hurry! ” 

Galvanised into activity by Bill’s orders, the 
[ 280 ] 


Brier Island 


men flew round and in a moment the fast motor- 
boat was ploughing across the lake. 

“ Speed her up,” shouted Bill; “ he’s sinking! 
Put on more speed ! Every bit you can ! Hello, 
out there! Brace up! We’re coming! ” 

The men believed now. There was a spent 
swimmer struggling to hold on till they could 
reach him. It was a race ! Almost sinking, he 
would make a fresh effort, as Farnsworth’s 
mighty voice rang out over the water. 

“Slow down! Ahead! Slew off a bit! 
Slow, — there!” and obeying his orders, the 
men brought the boat to a stop just beside the 
drowning swimmer, and Big Bill Farnsworth 
leaned over the side and by main force lifted 
Philip Van Reypen into the boat. 

“ I thought it was you,” said Bill, quietly. 
“ You’re all right now, old chap. Don’t try to 
talk. But just one word — where’s Patty? ” 

It was agony to Bill’s wildly-beating heart, to 
put that question calmly, to allow Van Reypen 
to speak slowly, but he knew that Phil’s life 
might depend on a quiet reaction from his ter- 
rible exertions. 

“ She’s — she’s safe,” he gasped, and Farns- 
worth’s taut muscles relaxed. “ She’s — on 

Brier Island, — canoe stolen, — I swam ” 

[281] 


Patty’s Romance 

Then he collapsed into a fainting state. 

“ Good Lord! ” cried the sailor-engineer; “ he 
swum from Brier Island! How could he ’a’ 
got this far? Why, it’s all of ” 

“Don’t stop to comment!” roared Bill. 
“ Give him some brandy, take all possible care 
of him, but get him back to shore, and let me 
go after the lady.” 

“ She’s safe enough, sir. We’ll go for her, 
soon’s we can. ’Tain’t cold weather, she won’t 
suffer none.” 

Farnsworth said nothing, but he set his teeth in 
a way peculiar to him when very stern, and 
ordered more speed. 

They reached the shore, landed Van Reypen, 
and with strict orders to get the hotel doctor 
for him at once, Farnsworth took on an extra 
man, and started at top speed for Brier Island. 

As they flew along the lake he had a moment 
to think coherently for the first time since he 
saw that head bobbing on the water far away. 

And his thoughts were all of Patty, — a little 
frightened Patty, — on a lonely island with the 
darkness increasing every minute. And a wave 
of great joy surged through his heart, that since 
she was there, it had fallen to his lot to rescue 
her! 


[ 282 ] 


Brier Island 


He scarcely realised that he had saved a man’s 
life. That he would have done for any one, 
had occasion required it. But to be of service to 
Patty in her hour of need, that was indeed 
blessedness ! 

At top speed the motor-boat tore through the 
water, and just as Patty’s foot was passing from 
the relieving numbness to the alternate attack of 
a thousand red-hot electric needles, she saw the 
light coming toward her. 

Not for a moment did she doubt it was Phil 
returning for her, but lest it might not be, she 
didn’t call out, for she wasn’t sure of the exact 
whereabouts of the objectionable Cantrell. 

Then from the motor-boat she heard a call of 
“ Whoo-Hoo! ” that made her heart jump up 
into her throat. 

She knew, she knew it couldn’t be Little Billee, 
but who else had that great voice, deep, yet bell- 
like, with a resounding note that carried like the 
tone of a great organ? 

There was no other call, for Bill was helping 
to make the landing, and was the first to spring 
to shore and rush up the bank toward the very 
tree in which Patty was perched. 

“ Patty! ” he called, and his voice was gentle 
now. 


[283] 


Patty’s Romance 

And then Patty knew, and the surprise of the 
knowledge almost made her fall out of her tree. 
At any rate it struck her dumb for a moment, 
and she heard Farnsworth calling, “ Where are 
you? Patty! Whoo-ee!” 

The fact that he was passing her tree and 
walking away from it restored her scattered 
senses in a jiffy, and she piped out in a thin, 
excited, little voice, due to her varying emo- 
tions, “ Here I am ! Oh, Little Billee, here I 
am ! ” 

“Where! ” and Bill thundered in impatience. 

“ Here ! up in this tree ! ” 

“ Up in a tree ! ” Incredulously he raised his 
eyes and looked in every tree but the right one. 

“This one!” cried Patty, laughing now. 
“ The one with the crooked trunk. I should 
think you could tell by the sound! Oh, Little 
Billee, where did you come from? ” 

“ I came to get you! But I didn’t expect to 
have to pick my Apple Blossom off a tree ! 
What are you doing up there? How did you 
get up? How shall I get you down? ” 

“ Turn around a minute, and I’ll come down.” 

Bill discreetly obeyed, and Patty scrambled 
down as easily as she had scrambled up. 

Then she went straight to Farnsworth, saw his 
[284] 


Brier Island 


weary, anxious face, although he was smiling, 
and said, simply, “ Tell me.” 

“ It’s all right,” and Farnsworth took her 
little, cold hands in his own big, warm ones. 
“ Van Reypen did nobly; he swam nearly all 
the way home, then he gave out, and we picked 
him up in a boat. Then we put him ashore to be 
taken care of and we came after you. Tell me, 
Patty, are you all right? . Are you chilled? 
Frightened? ” 

“ No, neither, now! But I don’t understand. 
How did you happen to be here ? Why did you 
come for me?” 

“ Never mind, now; come to the boat and get 
home. Explanations follow.” 

“ But I can’t walk,” and Patty hopped on one 
foot. 

“ Why? You haven’t broken your ankle, have 
you? ” 

“No, indeed! Nothing so romantic! It’s 
only that my foot’s asleep! ” 

“Oh! for goodness’ sake! Well, shake it, 
while I carry you.” 

Farnsworth picked her up as if she had been a 
doll, and with a half-dozen strides he reached 
the boat and placed her carefully among the 
cushions. 


[285] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ There! Now if you’ll promise not to say a 
word till we get home, I’ll tell you all about 
everything.” 

“Why can’t I speak?” 

“ Because you’re hoarse as a crow now; and 
if you talk you’ll have a fine large case of 
bronchitis or laryngitis or some of those silly 
things, and can’t sing for a week.” 

“ All right, I promise,” and Patty, still wear- 
ing Phil’s coat, sat mute as a mummy while 
Farnsworth explained his presence on the scene. 

“ Just happened that I had to come East,” he 
began, “ and it just happened that I remem- 
bered the name of the seaside resort where you 
are supposed to be found in the summer time. 
So I hied me there, and your respected parents 
said you were skylarking about with Philip Van 
and his highly-respected aunt. So I thought 
I’d go back to my little, lonely West, but some- 
how, I, — well, I just plain couldn’t, so I wan- 
dered up here, to see if you were as pretty as 
you used to be.” 

“ Am I? ” came from the mummy. 

“ Hush ! You promised not to talk. Well, on 
my arrival at the hotel I put on my best cloth- 
of-gold suit and went down to hunt you up, 
when I met Lady Van, secretly concerned about 
[ 286] 


Brier Island 


your non-appearance, but unwilling to admit it. 
I got a little uneasy, too, as you failed to show 
up, and I went down to the beach. I saw a head 
out in the water, and if you please, it was that 
brave Van Reypen, just about all in but strug- 
gling on. So I grabbed a boat and went out to 
give him a helping hand, and he told me where 
you were. Then I set him on shore, with all the 
haste that courtesy permitted, and I scooted 
back for you.” 

“ But, tell me, — I must know, — was Phil ” 

“ Yes, dear, Phil was exhausted. He’ll be all 
right, after a rub down and a rest, but his 
strength, great as it is, wasn’t equal to a pull 
like that. You needn’t feel any alarm for him. 
Patty, I’m telling you truly, he’s not likely to 
suffer any ill effects. His heart and pulse were 
quite all right, only his muscles gave out.” 

Patty looked straight into Farnsworth’s deep 
blue eyes, and her own glowed with recognition 
of what he had done. He didn’t need to tell 
her he had saved Van Reypen’s life, — she knew 
it. And with an impulsive gesture of admira- 
tion and gratitude, she put her hand in his, 
and whispered, “ Thank you, Little Billee.” 

Now, for some reason, Farnsworth wasn’t 
overpleased with this expression of thanks. 

[287] 


Patty’s Romance 

Not that he wanted praise for his exploit of 
bravery — he wasn’t that sort of a man — but he 
suddenly realised that he had saved Van Reypen 
for Patty. Of course he would do it again, 
right over, if it came his way, but it wasn’t very 
cheerful to pull his rival out of the water and 
throw him into his idol’s arms ! If he hadn’t 
been there, Van Reypen would positively have 
drowned, and Farnsworth was honestly thank- 
ful to have prevented that; but he did wish that 
Philip needn’t have known to whom he owed 
his life. It made matters so complicated. 

So he sat in a silence that was just a little 
sulky, until Patty, divining his mood, smiled at 
him, and again slipped her fingers into the ready 
hollow of his welcoming hand. 

“ I’m not given to 1 holding hands ’ as a rule,” 
she said to herself, by way of excuse; “ but Lit- 
tle Billee has done a big thing, and he deserves 
some reward, — and, beside, that paw of mine 
is cold! ” 


[288] 


CHAPTER XX 


A FIGHTING CHANCE 

M ATTERS were complicated. 

Philip was torn between resentment 
at Farnsworth’s intrusion on his “ Ro- 
mance ” and gratitude to the man who had 
saved his life. 

Mrs. Van Reypen was torn between precisely 
the same emotions. 

Farnsworth was torn between his love for 
Patty and his fear that he ought to respect 
Philip’s prior rights. Also, a decided unwill- 
ingness to accept any favour because of his 
chance opportunity to do a brave deed. 

Patty wasn’t torn at all. She accepted the 
devotion of both men as a bee accepts honey 
from any flower that chances to be on her par- 
ticular wayside. 

The four had dinner in Mrs. Van Reypen’s 
breakfast-room, and a gay feast it was. Every- 
body congratulated everybody else on his or her 
behaviour in the affair, and Patty beamed im- 
partially on all. 


[289] 


Patty’s Romance 

The travellers intended to continue their trip 
the next day, and as she couldn’t well do less, 
Mrs. Van Reypen invited Farnsworth to go 
with them in the big car. 

“Where is your next stop? ” he asked. 

“ The hotel at Mount Washington; and after 
a week or two there, on to Poland Springs, and 
down by way of the New England coast to 
Boston, and so on home.” 

“ I’d like to go to the White Mountains with 
you,” said Farnsworth; “ I’ve never been there. 
But I can stay only about a week, then I must go 
back to New York.” 

So it was arranged, and next morning, a lovely 
midsummer day, with clear sunlight tempered 
by mountain breezes, they set off. 

“ Our ‘ Romance ’ is spoiled,” said Phil to 
Patty, as they stood on the hotel veranda, just 
before starting. 

“ Not a bit of it ! It can go on the same as 
ever.” 

“ With another man around? ” 

“ Surely. I can manage two men at once, — 
in the matter of romance, — easily. Why, Ro- 
mance, as we mean it, is only another name for 
flirtation.” 

“ I know it. I wish it meant more.” 

[ 290] 



“Oh, Little Billee, 


and I made good” 


























✓ 






























































































A Fighting Chance 

“ Well, it doesn’t, and you know you agreed 
that it shouldn’t. Now, live up to your agree- 
ment.” 

“ I certainly will. I’m no quitter.” 

Farnsworth joined them then, and said in a 
low tone, “ What became of the Cantrell? ” 

“ I don’t know,” returned Phil. “ He dis- 
appeared somewhere, and I’m not going to 
bother to look him up. If we never see him 
again, — good. If he should follow us — well, 
he may wish he hadn’t, — that’s all.” 

Patty never forgot that day. All the condi- 
tions were perfect for a motor-ride; the swift 
car, the delightful weather, the merry party, 
and the wonderful, ever-changing mountain 
scenery. 

“Isn’t it great!” she cried to Farnsworth. 
“ Have you anything in your foolish old West 
to compare with this? ” 

“ We have nothing in the West as foolish as 
you are, — if that’s what you mean! ” for Patty 
had been babbling a string of nonsense out of 
sheer idle gaiety of heart. “ But we can put 
no some scenery! Why, scenery is one of our 
principal products. Our Rocky Mountains 
could pick these little hills up and put them in 
their pockets.” 


[ 291 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Oh, well, size isn’t everything; and, anyway, 
you’re having the very best time you ever had 
in all your life, aren’t you? ” 

“I sure am!” and Big Bill spoke very de- 
cidedly. 

They stopped for only a brief luncheon, and 
so easily accomplished the hundred miles to 
Bretton Woods by sunset. 

“ What a ’normous hotel! ” exclaimed Patty, 
as she saw the long, rambling structure, spread 
along the foot of the mountain. “ Something 
tells me there are a lot of pleasant-spoken young 
men abiding there.” 

“Well, they sha’n’t pleasant-speak to you! ” 
declared Van Reypen; “ your sole business is to 
entertain the men of your own party, eh, Farns- 
worth? ” 

“Exactly that! This is a close corporation, 
and no outside interference will be toler- 
ated.” 

“ Well, you’ll have to tolerate one man, and I 
see him now! ” Patty exclaimed as she waved 
her hand to some one on the veranda. 

It was Laurence Cromer, and he shouted greet- 
ings as the big car swung around to the auto- 
mobile entrance. 

“You’re just in time!” he cried, as he met 
[ 292 ] 


A Fighting Chance 

them in the hall. “ There’s a big dance on 
to-night, Miss Fairfield; I’ve told everybody 
about you, and you’ll simply own the hotel ! ” 

“ Good-bye, Romance ! ” murmured Philip, 
with a groan of despair, while Farnsworth drew 
a time-table from his pocket, and pretended to 
look up the Western trains. 

“ Don’t mind these silly boys,” said Patty to 
Cromer. “ As soon as they are introduced to 
those enchanting-looking girls over there, they’ll 
forget we exist.” 

The silly boys in question didn’t do quite that, 
but at the dance that evening they found they 
could count on no monopoly of pretty Patty’s 
favours. 

Laurence Cromer was acquainted with the 
most desirable people present, and Patty at once 
fell into her accustomed place as belle of the 
ball. It required no effort on her part to be 
popular; she was by nature so happy and good- 
natured, so gay and merry, such a good dancer, 
and so charmingly pretty, that everybody was 
attracted to her at once. 

And not only the men but the girls wanted to 
know her, for they readily saw that Miss Fair- 
field was pleasantly chummy in a real girl’s 
way. 


[ 293 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

Patty had put on a new dress for the occasion; 
one of her prettiest. 

It was of white chiffon, with a design of apple 
blossoms in palest tint powdered all over it. 
The soft, full skirt, cut dancing length, swayed 
lightly above her pink satin slippers, their nar- 
row ribbons crossed and recrossed over pink 
silk stockings. Her golden hair was massed 
simply, without ornament, and she wore no 
jewelry, save the exquisite apple-blossom pin 
Farnsworth had given her on her birth- 
day. 

Laurence Cromer hovered over her like a 
guardian angel. 

“ Let me see your card,” he would say. 
“ H’m ! don’t give that Conyngham chap an- 
other dance. Yes, he’s all right for once, but 
he’s not entirely our sort. St. Clair, — he’s a 
fine fellow. You may play with him. Burton, 
yes. But Grimshaw! How in the world did 
you meet him? ” 

“ I don’t know,” said Patty, carelessly. 
“ Somebody introduced him.” 

“ Excuse my strictness, Mrs. Van Reypen,” 
said Cromer to Patty’s chaperon, who sat be- 
side her, “ but, you see, you don’t know all these 
people yet, /and as I promised Miss Fairfield’s 

[ 294] 


A Fighting Chance 

parents I’d look out for her, I feel a grave re- 
sponsibility in the matter.” 

“ I’m glad you do,” said Lady Van, who de- 
cidedly approved of the exclusive young artist. 
“ I feel that Patty couldn’t be in better hands. 
One has to be so careful in a strange hotel.” 

So under Cromer’s supervision Patty made 
delightful acquaintances and foresaw a most 
exceeding pleasant week or fortnight at the 
hotel. 

“ Now, Little Sunshine, this is our dance,” 
Cromer said, coming up to her about the 
middle of the evening. 

“ Do you know I haven’t danced with Mr. 
Van Reypen or Mr. Farnsworth yet,” said 
Patty, as they went on the floor. 

“ Do you want to? ” and Cromer looked sur- 
prised. “ You can dance with them any time, 
you know.” 

“ But will they like it, if I don’t? ” 

“ As a matter of fact, they don’t like it a bit! 
But I told them that your card was full, and 
they said oh, very well, if I was giving the 
orders, all right, — or words to that effect.” 

“ Were they put out? ” 

“Yes; Farnsworth very much so. But I’ve 
known old Bill for years, — and I explained to 
[ 295 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

him how I wanted you to get acquainted to- 
night, and then after this you can choose for 
yourself.” 

“ But I don’t want you to overdo this over- 
seer business,” and Patty pouted a little. 

“ Oh, that’s all right. Bill understood. He 
said so.” 

“ Where is he?” 

“ Gone to his room, I fancy. You know he 
doesn’t care much for frivolities, and he said he 
thought he’d turn in early.” 

“ Oh, he did, did he ? Well, I want to see him, 
and I want to see him now.” 

“ Won’t to-morrow do? ” 

“ Not if I can see him to-night. Let’s make 
the round of the verandas. We may find 
him.” 

Patty and Cromer walked the great length of 
veranda that ran round three sides of the hotel, 
and at the farthest end they saw Farnsworth 
seated on the railing, smoking, and gazing at 
the mountains. His hands were clasped behind 
his head, which leaned against a pillar, and it 
was quite evident he did not heed their ap- 
proach. 

“Will you go back, please, Mr. Cromer?” 
said Patty. “ I want to speak to Bill a moment.” 

1 296 ] 


A Fighting Chance 

“ Certainly,” and with his best bow, Cromer 
turned, and silently walked away. 

Patty drew nearer Farnsworth, sure from his 
absorbed attitude that he did not know of her 
presence. 

One more step brought her quite close to him, 
and she laid her hand lightly on his shoulder to 
attract his attention. 

Farnsworth’s head did not turn nor did his 
gaze leave the looming mountain, but he cov- 
ered Patty’s hand with his own and, raising it to 
his lips, kissed her little pink finger tips. 

“ How dare you ! ” she exclaimed, drawing 
away her hand. 

Farnsworth looked round now, and seeing her, 
smiled. 

“Why, is it you, really?” he said, as if in 
great surprise. “ I thought I was dreaming, 
and you were only part of my dream.” 

“Very pretty, Little Billee; but now, wake 
up and behave yourself! ” 

“ Pm not misbehaving, Pm good as pie ! 
What do you want me to do? ” 

“ I want you to ask me to dance, for one 
thing.” 

“ Don’t want to dance.” 

“ Well, then, take me to get an ice.” 

[ 297 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ Don’t want an ice.” 

“ What do you want? ” 

“ Just to sit here for ever and ever, and have 
you stand there and let me look at you.” 

“ Why do you want to look at me? ” 

“ Because,” Farnsworth spoke very slowly, 
“ because you’re wearing the pin I gave 
you.” 

“ And you admire your own gift so much? ” 

“Yes; on you. Tell me, does it mean any- 
thing? ” 

“ Of course it does.” 

“What?” 

“ Why, it means that it’s the most appropriate 
ornament I possess to go with this costume.” 

“ Yes, it does suit that frock, doesn’t it? And 
so you had a costume made on purpose to match 
that pin.” 

“ I didn’t say so ! ” and Patty looked at him 
haughtily. 

“ You didn’t have to. I knew it. And you 
thought you’d appear before me wearing it, and 
— just bowl me right over.” 

u Why! aren’t you perfectly ” 

“And you did! I am bowled over. You’re 
a picture in that flowered frock, with your 
twinkling pink slippers, and that apple-blossom 
[298] 


A Fighting Chance 

pin. You look like the personification of Ro- 
mance.” 

“ Why, that’s just what I am! How did you 
guess? Let me sit here by you, and I’ll tell you 
all about it.” Patty perched herself on the 
veranda rail by Farnsworth’s side, and looked 
up at him laughingly. “ You see, this is my 
Romance trip. Of course, so far, the romance 
has been mostly with Philip ; then you came, and 
our experience yesterday was romantic enough 
for anybody, wasn’t it? ” 

“ ’M-hm.” 

“ Well, and now I’m here ! and I’ve that 
heavenly Mr. Cromer to romance with, and 
goodness knows how many others of the men 
I’ve met to-night.” 

“ And where do I come in? ” 

“ You take your chance with the others.” 

“ Have I as good a chance as any one else? ” 
“ So far as I’m concerned, — yes, indeed.” 
“You’re not in any way bound to Van Rey- 
pen? ” 

“ Bound? You sound as if I were an orfling 
asylum waif ! No, kind sir, since you ask, I’m 
not bound up in Phil, though he is a dear old 
thing.” , 

“ He adores you.” 

[ 299 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

“ So? ” Patty was bewitching as she raised her 
laughing blue eyes to the strong, fine face above 
her. 

Farnsworth’s splendid physique was especially 
noticeable in his evening things, and as he stood 
up and leaned against the pillar, he looked like 
a Norse Viking returned to earth, and fitted into 
the twentieth century. Shaking back his thick, 
tawny bronze hair, he stood looking down at the 
saucy beauty on the railing. 

“ You’re the most cocksure little piece of vanity 
I ever ran up against! But, — you’re you , — 
YOU! — and that’s all there is about that! ” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

Patty was decidedly enjoying herself. She 
loved to flirt, and to flirt with this great, strong, 
yet gentle man was exceedingly satisfactory. 
She remembered somebody had told her his 
friends called him Giant Greatheart. She could 
well believe it. 

Still towering above her, still looking down at 
her, from his great height, Farnsworth went 
on : 

“ Do you admit you bought that frock to wear 
with that pin? ” 

“ Marvellous, Holmes, marvellous ! ” said 
Patty, with upraised eyes. 

[ 300 ] 


A Fighting Chance 

“ Do you? ” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ And you meant to spring the thing on me, 
with dramatic effect? ” 

“ I did! Oh, Little Billee, I did mean to, and 
haven’t I made good? ” 

Patty was convulsed with laughter at Farns- 
worth’s intuition, for she had had some vague 
idea when she ordered the gown, but she never 
dreamed he’d discern it. 

“ Yes, you’ve come through with flying 
colours! Now, wait a minute. Did I under- 
stand you to say that, up to date, I’ve as good a 
chance as any one else? ” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“ Don’t use that silly phrase to me, with that 
idiotic smile ! Have I ? ” 

“You have, Mr. Farnsworth.” Patty’s dig- 
nity was that of a duchess. 

“Then, by the Lord Harry! nobody else has 
any chance at all ! I’ll knock the chances they 
think they have to a thousand smithereens! 
Don’t you worry, my lady! A chance is all I 
want, — a fighting chance ! Now, I’ll dance with 
you. Come along — Apple Blossom ! ” 

Patty slipped from the railing and demurely 
walked by Bill’s side to the grand ballroom, 

[301 ] 


Patty’s Romance 

where scores of couples were dancing the new- 
est steps. 

“Here we are! Now dance your prettiest,” 
and lightly holding her to him, Farnsworth 
skilfully guided her through the intricate mazes 
of the modern dance. 

When Patty at last went to her room that 
night, she was not at all weary, but felt in gay 
good humour with all the world. 

She kicked off her dancing slippers, threw off 
her pretty frock, and then in a fluffy boudoir 
gown sat down at the desk, to rattle off a few 
lines to Nan and her father. 

“ This place is beautiful beyond words! ” she 
wrote. “ That is, I haven’t seen it yet, exactly, 
but I know it is. There’s a heavenly bunch of 
young people, and I’ve Romance to burn ! The 
boys are perfectly dear, and my beaux, like Sir 
Joseph Porter’s cousins, I reckon up by dozens ! 
The outlook (on Nature) is wonderful, and the 
outlook (on Romance) is better yet, so you 
see I’m in for a good time ! Lady Van is kind- 
ness itself, and Mr. Cromer is the most fascinat- 
ing thing ! I hope you two dears will decide to 
come up here, for I know you’d love it. Oh, 
Nancy Dancy, why am I picked out to have such 
[ 302 ] 


A Fighting Chance 

a good time ? Poor little wuthless me ? I must 
have been born under a lucky star. Now, I 
must hop to bed, for to-morrow we are going 
to the top of Mount Washington, and the bot- 
tom of the Flume, and I don’t know where all ! 
And with all the real, deep affection that lies 
underneath this flummery foolishness, I am to 
you two, my only Real True Beloved Ones, your 
loving Patty.” 


[ 303 ] 





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